India legal 31 December 2014 by India Legal

OBITUARY How a false espionage case tore up the life of an ISRO scientist and delayed projects by 15 years 36 Justice Krishna Iyer

NDIA EGAL I L 33

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December 31, 2014

`100

STORIES THAT COUNT

Rape and After

RNI No. UPENG/2007/25763

Postal Regd. No. UP/GBD-197/2014-16

Though laws and guidelines are in place, the medical fraternity is clueless about how to deal with victims of sexual abuse 12 PLUS

BRING BACK MY CHILD 54 SARADHA SCAM: MAMATAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S WATERLOO? 43 28 ALSO

NEO-SAFFRONISM Is Modi weakening under the assault of Hindu reactionaries?

NATIONAL POLITICS/ letter from the editor/neo-saffronism

INDERJIT BADHWAR

IS MODI WEAKENING? HAT exactly is Modi’s idea of India and how, exactly, has post-electoral Modiism been shaping India’s political scenario? The fashionable criticism of the new prime minister is that he is an addicted foreign junketeer traipsing from capital to capital and from one NRI audience to another in search of foreign approbation, while domestically he has laid nothing more than one big, fat egg. They ask: What’s he done? This column is by no means a year-after report card on Modi but an attempt to understand, through my own evaluation of the man, where he seems to be headed in the context of the mood of the nation. That the country is on a tight leash and short fuse, given the Congress catastrophe, the regional parties’ flop, and the Aam Aadmi roller-coaster, is a given. That its people will no longer suffer fools gladly or, like lemmings, join a religious or ideological mass movement in a headlong rush to destruction, is also scripted quite clearly. And herein lies a lesson for Modi’s opponents on the Right as well as the Left—not to exult in haste in the celebration of the end of the Modi honeymoon. It is far from over. Before answering what he’s done, let me tell you what he’s not done. He has NOT: Cleaned up the Ganga; restored 8 percent GDP growth; introduced judicial reform; ended the rape and subjugation of women; rebuilt our cities or renewed urban India; accelerated farm production; introduced meaningful tax reform; introduced disinvestment plans; revamped Air India; cut down the bureaucracy; shut down terrorist camps in Pakistan. On the DONE side: He has delivered on a platter to his party the most handsome victory it has ever enjoyed; shattered the Gandhi dynasty; replaced the creaky old guard with new faces; defied the RSS

strongmen in Gujarat as well as nationally; trounced the Shiv Sena (which was secretly backed by the RSS) in Maharashtra, and the traditional alliances in Haryana; consolidated his administrative hold on more parts of India than ever before; anointed himself Maximum Leader of SAARC without alienating Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; made the Chinese leadership sit up and pay attention to a new India; sent out a message of modernity at BRICS; encouraged a beefing up of business confidence by attracting $50 billion in less than three months from Japan, China, and the US; tightened the screws on the bureaucracy; and focused world attention as never before on India by getting Obama, the president of the most powerful country in the world, to agree to come as chief guest on Republic Day.

or the first time since independence, the world press will flock to India to cover Bharat’s Republic Day parade. No mean achievement. But in my mind, Modi’s greatest achievement so far, has been in picking up the broom and beginning to sweep India. Sure, it was a symbolic gesture and one Modi broom does not a clean India make. But you’ve got to start somewhere. You’ve got to send a message—something that Nehru should have treated on par with inaugurating the Bhakra Dam. The important thing here is that Prime Minister Modi, in his first year, practicing the art of the possible, has given a direction. His message has been one of hope rather than blame letting or ideology. There is nothing unclear or opaque in whatever he has done. His critics come from two directions: The Left (including Rahul Gandhi’s Congress, which has reinvented Socialism) and the Lohiaites, who pretend to stand for the oppressed masses (as against Modi, who supports the super-rich) and want Modi to pay for the INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

NATIONAL POLITICS/ Letter from the editor/neo-saffronism

administrative and political goals of modernizing the economy and creating jobs and loosening the nationally enervating ministerial and bureaucratic stranglehold over entrepreneurial energy and human rights. Modi’s political acumen will be tested by whether he wastes his energy in firefighting these elements or preserves it to pursue the larger vision for which he was elected and whose implementation will be his ultimate vindication as a Gen Next Leader.

s he weakening? Some of his intellectual supporters think so. The inimitable sociologist-economist Surjit Bhalla says: “Are (HRD Minister) Smriti Irani’s (decreeing compulsory Sanskrit in schools) and Swaraj’s national book interrelated with the Hindutva elements? If so, wasn’t Modi’s appeal meant to transcend such narrow, non-national fundamentalist agendas? How will Sanskrit and the national book help provide education and/or create jobs for the poor?” Bhalla adds that while the PM seems to grasp what is required, the same cannot be said for the members of his party, or the bureaucracy. Modi seems to have been captured by the

GOING GLOBAL (Above) Prime Minister Modi addressing a gathering in Brisbane, Australia, in November (Right) Modi with US President Barack Obama in Washington

sins of Gujarat 2002; and the Right—the RSS swadeshi-wallahs and virulent Hindutva fanatics who preach love jehad and ghar waapasi (reconversion to the Hindu fold), and Ram Mandir rebuilding, and Ramzada versus Haraamzada hard-Right Hindu politics; declare all Indians the children of Ram or, as Sushma Swaraj decrees, want the Bhagwad Gita declared a “national book”. How many of them have read a word of the Upanishads or the ancient shastras? Both these groups want Modi to fail in order to make a place for themselves: The Congress and various samajwadi groups because they have been wiped out by a Modi-created wave that ushered in a strong central government at the expense of family-led regional, castetist parties; and the hard Right, whose slogans and ideological lines Modi (once their pet child) refused to espouse throughout his election campaign. This common agenda will succeed only to the extent that Modi will be deflected from his

December 31, 2014

bureaucracy, which is unfortunate and entirely unnecessary. Nor should he be beholden to the narrow agendas of Hindutva or the RSS, says Bhalla. Our own writers elsewhere in this magazine, in a section sub-headed “new-saffronism”, also dwell at length on this issue. But there is a silver lining. Veteran journalist Farzand Ahmed, who spent the last fortnight in Ayodhya, writes that the majoritarian celebrations planned by VHP and other Hindutva activists to celebrate December 6 to commemorate the demolition of the Babri Masjid failed to evoke any response in Ayodhya and the town continued its life peacefully and harmoniously. Herein lies a lesson for Modi. No matter what the ground level noise, no matter how much the media and political provocation for him to get involved in the petty ground level noises from the Left and Right, he must, as the nation’s Prime Minister, rise above them, stick solidly to the Rule of Law, and keep marching ahead with his agenda of eliminating corruption, crony capitalism, joblessness. His pursuit of his dream of a fast-modernizing India, upward mobility, speedy delivery of justice, the pursuit of world excellence in technology was what made him stand apart from the crowd—including his own party—and helped put 2002 behind him during the last election. He can never afford to forget that. Nonetheless, writers like Pankaj Mishra still believe that Modi represents Hindu revanchist and supremacist ideas which are quintessentially antiWest: He wrote recently in The New York Times: “Narendra Modi, India’s new prime minister and

The test of Modi’s leadership will lie in his dexterity in sidelining the forces, including the Hindutva hardliners, which interfere with his larger vision. main ideologue of the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, is stoking old Hindu rage-and-shame over what he calls more than a thousand years of slavery under Muslim and British rule. Earlier this month, while India and Pakistan were engaging in their heaviest fighting in over a decade, Mr Modi claimed that the ‘enemy’ was now ‘screaming.’ “Since Mr Naipaul defined it, the apocalyptic Indian imagination has been enriched by the exploits of Hindu nationalists, such as the destruction in 1992 of the 16th-century Babri Masjid mosque, and the nuclear tests of 1998. Celebrating the tests in speeches in the late 1990s, including one entitled ‘Ek Aur Mahabharata’ (One More Mahabharata), the then head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the National Volunteers Association, or RSS), the parent outfit of Hindu nationalists, claimed that Hindus, a ‘heroic, intelligent race, had so far lacked proper weapons but were sure to prevail in the forthcoming showdown with demonic anti-Hindus, a broad category that includes Americans (who apparently best exemplify the worldwide ‘rise of inhumanity’).”

ankaj Mishra overstates his case. He is a master of hyperbole and tautology. Naipaul is a gifted, poetic writer but guilty as hell about his non-Indianness despite his being of Indian origin. These types have an exaggerated sense of identity with the mother country that often turns into raging hatred and bitterness. To quote Naipaul on world affairs is fine but to quote him on India and Indianness as being the Gospel is like quoting a Dixie fundamentalist preacherman on the Torah or Talmud. His India: A Wounded Civilization was no big shakes—it talked about the Ugly Indian, but so what? There was no depth to it. His House for Mr Biswas, and The Return of Eva Peron were masterpieces but had very little to do with socio-political commentary on India. Ironically, the country Modi really admires most is the US (don’t forget who is coming for Republic Day!) because he is a fanatical

REVIVALIST AGENDA (Left) RSS head Mohan Bhagwat at the World Hindu Congress in New Delhi in November

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

NATIONAL POLITICS/ Letter from the editor/neo-saffronism Hinduism to inspire the kind of nationalism that will drive Indians towards greater nation-building and take pride in a new work ethic. In that sense, he is puritanical with a Calvinist zeal. But I doubt that he will succumb to or become beholden to the exaggerated versions of Hindu nationalism to which Mishra alludes. That kind of retrograde nationalism exists only in small pockets in India and has no influence over most Indians. Modi may pay lip service to it but he will neither practice it in his foreign policy nor adopt it as his ideology.

RETROGRADE STEPS RSS cadres in khaki shorts

believer in US-style upward mobility, entrepreneurship, and individual achievement. He also considers America to be a religious nation. He admires America’s inventiveness, IT skills, scientific temper and business-like approach to the world. He holds out American post- and pre-Depression rags-to-richesand-fame stories as examples of his own life. He harbors no bitterness towards the US for denying him a visa following the 2002 Gujarat riots when he was chief minister. Most Gujaratis (Modi is a diehard Gujarati) are naturally inclined to be pro-America. The Gujaratis who live in India as well as the huge Gujarati diaspora in the West and the US are the most powerful pro-American lobby to influence the Indian government. They are wealthy, influential and they drive the Indo-US commercial-business relationship. The Ambani brothers graduated from Wharton and have little time for the RSS khaki-shorts culture. Modi himself traveled extensively in the US in the 1990s, imbibing and learning from the small business ethics, efficiency and work culture of the Americans and he watched with admiration how his fellow Gujaratis who had settled in the US as businessmen and monopolized the motel industry had thrived. Yes, Modi is undoubtedly a diehard nationalist driven by a messianic conviction in the power of

December 31, 2014

ll you have to do is to watch the tapes of his four-day US visit. Twenty thousand Indians, a huge number of them Gujaratis, were waving American and Indian flags and singing both national anthems. Did Modi’s lapping that up reflect even a hint of anti-Americanism? His appearance with a rock group at New York’s Central Park the previous day, where he spoke admiringly of the US and US youth and ended his speech with “May the Force Be With You” hardly shows him as an America-phobe! In fact, Modi is more in tune with the American ethos than with that of any other country. But he will not follow American policies blindly because he is a strong nationalist with an overwhelming electoral majority, and will doggedly pursue India’s international interests. If retrograde Hindu nationalism stands in the way of what Modi considers to be rapid economic development, smaller and better governance, more trade and exchanges with America, he will pursue the latter course. Modi is a strong opponent of traditions such as indifference to hygiene, fatalism, caste restriction, which have been obstacles in India’s march towards greater efficiency and productivity. It is for this reason he admires China’s Deng as an innovator and is not paranoid about Chinese investment in India’s infrastructure. His nationalistic role model is post-war Japan, fiercely devoted to nation-building, clinging to many traditions, addicted to technology and innovative management. He would be courting national disaster and historical condemnation if he were to allow anything similar to the Gujarat communal riots happen again in India during his term. The test of his leadership as a non-nonsense pragmatist will lie in his political dexterity in sidelining the forces—including retrograde “Hinduism”—which interfere with his larger development vision. The alternative is to fester in the opprobrium of 2002.

editor@indialegalonline.com

DECEMBER 31, 2014

VOLUME. VIII

ISSUE. 08

Editor-in-Chief Inderjit Badhwar Managing Editor Ramesh Menon Deputy Managing Editor Shobha John Senior Editor Vishwas Kumar Contributing Editor Girish Nikam Associate Editor Meha Mathur Deputy Editor Prabir Biswas Assistant Editor Somi Das Art Director Anthony Lawrence Senior Visualizer Amitava Sen Graphic Designer Lalit Khitoliya Photographer Anil Shakya News Coordinator/Photo Researcher Kh Manglembi Devi Production Pawan Kumar Verma CFO Anand Raj Singh VP (HR & General Administration) Lokesh C Sharma For advertising & subscription queries sales@indialegalonline.com

LEAD

Rape victim’s agony, doctors’ ignorance

Medical practitioners, especially those in private hospitals, need to be trained on how to handle sexual abuse cases, writes SHOBHA JOHN CASE STUDY

In-laws as out-laws A Karnal girl files a rape case against her father-in-law, traumatizing the Delhi family. VISHWAS KUMAR describes how some scheming individuals are misusing the law to settle personal scores FOCUS

Babri revisited

16 20

Keen to forget the tumultuous past, residents of Ayodhya and Faizabad want to get on with their lives. But the Hindutva forces are in an overdrive to polarize voters. Twenty-two years after the Babri Masjid was demolished, FARZAND AHMED describes the situation on ground zero, even as SCHARADA DUBEY questions the motive behind VHP’s call to celebrate “Bhagwa Divas”. Plus, an analysis of the increasingly belligerent posture of the right-wing parties by RAJENDRA BAJPAI

Published by Raju Sarin on behalf of E N Communications Pvt Ltd and printed at CIRRUS GRAPHICS Pvt Ltd., B-61, Sector-67, Noida. (UP)- 201 301 (India) All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Requests for permission should be directed to E N Communications Pvt Ltd . Opinions of writers in the magazine are not necessarily endorsed by E N Communications Pvt Ltd . The Publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All correspondence should be addressed to E N Communications Pvt Ltd .

OWNED BY E. N. COMMUNICATIONS PVT. LTD. NOIDA HEAD OFFICE: A -9, Sector-68, Gautam Buddh Nagar, NOIDA (U.P.) - 201309 Phone: +9 1-0120-2471400-432 ; Fax: + 91- 0120-2471411 e-mail: editor@indialegalonline.com website: www.indialegalonline.com MUMBAI OFFICE: Arshie Complex, B-3 & B4, Yari Road, Versova, Andheri, Mumbai-400058 RANCHI OFFICE: House No. 130/C, Vidyalaya Marg, Ashoknagar, Ranchi-834002. LUCKNOW OFFICE: First floor, 21/32, A, West View, Tilak Marg, Hazratganj, Lucknow-226001. PATNA OFFICE: Sukh Vihar Apartment, West Boring Canal Road, New Punaichak, Opposite Lalita Hotel, Patna-800023. ALLAHABAD OFFICE: Leader Press, 9-A, Edmonston Road, Civil Lines, Allahabad-211 001.

December 31, 2014

On the wrong side of law Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who has been spewing venom against Indians of certain faiths, could be booked under two sections of the IPC for her hateful speeches, writes SHAILENDRA SINGH

PROBE

Nambinarayanan’s wasteland

TK DEVASIA narrates how a senior ISRO scientist was implicated in a false espionage case, and how his removal from the organization harmed India’s indigenous space technology programme

OBITUARY

The last Mohican

FALI S NARIMAN remembers an episode from the remarkable life of Justice Krishna Iyer who had a stellar career spanning seven decades. RAMESH MENON describes Justice Iyer’s contributions to the judiciary, and the country SPOTLIGHT

Bring back my child

Didi’s Waterloo?

Will the arrest of Trinamool MP Kunal Ghosh in the Saradha Scam irreversibly damage Mamata Banerjee’s political career? SAJEDA MOMIN reports PROFILE

In the hot seat

Anil Kumar Sinha, the new chief of CBI, enjoys the backing of none other than Narendra Modi. But VISHWAS KUMAR lists the challenges that lie ahead of him

More than 50,000 Indian children go missing each year. MEHA MATHUR investigates the nefarious human trafficking racket that preys upon these unsuspecting souls, and the plight of the suffering families ART & ENTERTAINMENT

Courtroom demistified

ALSO All about the NDA’s move to bring in commercial mining through a bill in parliament......…......…..50 The increasing dog bite menace and the need to frame right policies to tackle rabies ..............…59

A school for the poor, running under a Delhi Metro bridge…..............62 China’s geo-political need to keep Tibet as a buffer zone..............................64

SOMI DAS reviews Court, a debutante director’s take on judicial proceedings

REGULARS

STATES

Prof Debashis Chatterjee’s book on creative teachers.........................72

Supreme Court..................................................................................10 Courts................................................................................................75 Ringside ............................................................................................79 Quote-Unquote ...............… ..............................................................80 Wordly-wise .......................................................................................81 People ...............................................................................................82

Cover Design: ANTHONY LAWRENCE Cover Illustration: UDAYSHANKAR

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

SUPREME COURT

Centre, states pulled up over female foeticide aking a serious note of the skewed sex ratio in the country, the Supreme Court blamed the center and the states for poor monitoring of hospitals and diagnostic centers that get away with female foeticide despite a blanket ban. While hearing a PIL filed by an NGO, Voluntary Health Association of Punjab, on the issue, the court asked for a yearwise data on people against whom legal proceedings had been started for female foeticide. It wanted to know whether the act banning sex determination and

female foeticide and laying down punishment for non-conforming doctors was being implemented. Realising that female fetus still continue to be aborted and the mechanism set up by it to stop the practice had failed because the states were not forthcoming, the court formed a committee and made it mandatory for states to submit data on the latest sex ratio and information regarding how the data was arrived at. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi were asked to take the lead and submit their data by December 10.

Illustrations: Aruna

Speedy evacuation atisfied with the efforts made by the center in getting most of the bungalows occupied by erstwhile MPs in Lutyensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Delhi vacated, the court stated that the Modi government had done a commendable job. The court had started proceedings to find out if the center was wrongfully using its

Dattu takes up cudgels

discretionary power in allotting bungalows. But after going through the detail of allotments submitted by the center, it concluded that the Modi government had handled the issue commendably, especially after the centerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s counsel said that the government had already managed to get 363 of the 374 houses evacuated.

hief justices of India have always been concerned about the huge backlog of cases and the current incumbent, HL Dattu, is no different. He has asked chief justices of high courts to make sure that cases older than five years do not await judgment. This also applies to the lower courts falling under their jurisdiction. While there has been a spurt in cases in high courts across the country, subordinate courts have brought down the number of pending old cases. Poor strength of judges in high courts is considered to be one of the reasons for piling up of cases.

December 31, 2014

Subrata Roy can breathe easy he chances of Sahara group chief Subrata Roy coming out of jail increased when the Supreme Court gave the go-ahead to the group to sell four of its domestic properties and raise money. Languishing in jail for more than eight months, Roy needs to arrange `10,000 crore for his release, and these deals are likely to bring in `2,710 crore.

Once issues relating to disposing of foreign properties are sorted out by Sahara, the group will be able to garner another tran-che of more than `3,000 crore. A court was satisfied by Saharaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assurance that all the formalities related to the selling of the properties would be over by May 2015. It accepted Saharaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plea that purchasers will deposit post-dated cheques issued to Sebi-Sahara refund account along with a promise that the amounts will be deposited by due dates.

Monitoring high courts n an unprecedented move that will enable a qualitative evaluation of judgments delivered by high courts, the chief justice of India, HL Dattu, has asked them to file detailed information on the verdicts delivered. Justice Dattu wrote a letter to all high courts specifying the new rule. Hitherto, high courts were submitting only statistics of cases on which judgments had been delivered. Now, the apex court can assess the decisions, both in terms of quantity and quality. Dattu has also told the high courts to send CVs of chief justices and judges.

Ensuring social justice nsuring social justice is enshrined in the constitution. And as the highest court of the land, the onus lies on the Supreme Court to ensure that cases lying with it and falling in the category of social justice receive judgment quickly. The apex court needs to clear around 200 such cases as of now.

Considering this enormous responsibility, the chief justice of India has taken a novel initiative. A special social justice bench of two judges has been formed to exclusively take up cases in this category. Starting December 12, the bench will meet every Friday to adjudicate PILs that deal with social issues, and 65 cases were slated to be addressed in the first two weeks, especially those concerning women, children and the deprived.

Center moves out of Bikaner House he Rajasthan governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s demand that the center completely vacate the sprawling Bikaner House in the heart of Delhi came true, but only when the Supreme Court intervened. Realizing there was no other option, the NDA government agreed to shift out all central government offices from the mansion on December 1. This has brought down the curtains on a four-decade-long battle between the governments in Rajasthan and the center. The NDA government had failed to honor its commitment that it would completely leave Bikaner House by August 2014.

No bail for Asaram he Supreme Court turned down the bail plea of controversial godman Asaram Bapu citing ill-health. Observing that his illness was related to old age, the court ruled that there was no medical urgency for bail, and asked him to come to AIIMS for medical check-ups. The director of AIIMS was ordered by the apex court in October to set up a medical board for looking into medical reports of the godman and find out if bail should be granted. The court refused to be dragged into the logistics of bringing the godman from Jodhpur jail to Delhi, saying it was for the Rajasthan government to decide the modalities.

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

LEAD/ sexual abuse/medico-legal care

The Second RAPE

another rape, another time. while laws and guidelines are in place to give succor to these victims, caregivers are often clueless about how to deal with them

By Shobha John

T’S happened yet again. Exactly two years after the horrific rape of Nirbhaya in Delhi on December 16, 2012, it was the turn of another Delhi woman to be raped, this time in an Uber cab. While she survived and is trying to get on with her life, the fact is that sexually-abused victims are India’s shame and growing by the numbers. But after Nirbhaya, the way society deals with rape victims has changed. Figures pertaining to sexual violence in India are shocking, to say the least. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, one in three women in India is likely to face sexual and physical violence in her lifetime. That’s 33 percent of the total population—far too high for any complacency. The latest UN report says that 42 percent of girls in India are physically and sexually abused before the age of 19. The study, conducted between 2005 and 2013, says that the majority of girls had reported that the perpetrators of this violence were persons known to them. Many of these cases go unreported. In an effort to give these victims proper counseling and legal aid, the Ministry of Health

December 31, 2014

and Family Welfare came out with a detailed and comprehensive 74-page document in March 2014 called, “Guidelines & Protocols: Medico-legal care for survivors and victims of sexual violence” (see box). It says categorically: “Sexual assault victims cannot be denied treatment in either government or private hospitals when they approach them.... As is known, the rape law has been made more stringent with zero tolerance for offenders.” LITTLE KNOWLEDGE But shockingly, there is general ignorance among private medical practitioners about these guidelines as they haven’t been disseminated properly. Few know that Section 357 C of the CrPC (Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013) says that both private and public health professionals are obligated to provide treatment to sexual assault victims. Denial of treatment is punishable under Section 166B of the IPC with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with a fine or both. In an effort to remove this ignorance, the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) in collaboration with Women’s Empowerment Foundation (WEF) organized a workshop in October in Mumbai called, “Managing Sexual Abuse – Training the Trainers.” This was meant to create awareness about various legal and administration procedures every doctor should follow in handling these victims. While government doctors are well-versed with these procedures as most of these cases come to them, private ones are often ignorant about them. Hopefully, this workshop will

ensure that such victims are not deprived of justice because of poor documentation and lack of evidence. The workshop had 40 participants from all over India, many of them private gynaecologists, legal experts, NGOs, such as RAHAT, which help sexual-abuse victims, and representatives from the police. The role of doctors in obtaining the history of victims, record-keeping and evidence collection for documentation and delivery of justice, along with lawyers and police, cannot be over-emphasized. Booklets of the health ministry’s guidelines were distributed to these doctors for better dissemination. IGNORANCE NOT BLISS Dr Duru Shah, managing trustee, WEF, who trained these doctors at the workshop, said many did not know the proper protocols. Whatever training they had in this sphere was during their undergraduate studies, a long time back. “But private doctors have to be trained to handle these victims. For example, they have to be given medicines for sexually transmitted diseases (in case the rapist has it), emergency contraception (in case he has impregnated the victim) and antibiotics,” says Shah. “This is something most general practitioners also don’t know,” he says. In addition, she says, injuries (bleeding, tears in the private region) have to be treated and physical evidence collected from the mouth, vagina and anal region of the victim. “This standardized protocol will aid the victim in getting faster justice. In fact, 90 percent of sexual abuse cases reported don’t get justice due to lack of medical evidence and correct documentation,” she specifies. Doctors are also being given courtroom training on how to withstand cross-examination in front of defense lawyers. They are encouraged to open up in court about the case details rather than say just a “yes” or a “no”. They are also told to keep a record of their medicolegal cases so that if they have to appear in court years later, they don’t forget the details and contradict themselves.

Few private medical practitioners know that Section 357 of CrPC says that all health professionals must provide treatment to sexual-assault victims. hospitals, where the doctors were so overworked and stressed that beyond giving them immediate aid, there was no time to empathize with them. Now, victims will be hand-held to reduce the trauma and the humiliation of an assault. “Also,” says Shah, “the two-finger test given to find out if a victim has been raped has, thankfully, been done away with. This was akin to a second rape as it was humiliating as well as degrading.” The gynaecologists thus trained, called, “Master Trainers”, will then conduct similar workshops in their own states and train 20 more to enable better management of sexual abuse victims. At least, that is what is hoped. Though these steps are welcome, more needs to be done. For example, the medical curriculum needs to be changed to keep up with the changing social milieu. Shah advises

HANDHOLDING THE VICTIM The new protocol is also a far departure from the shabby treatment given to these victims earlier. They were mainly treated in government Illustrations: Udayshankar

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

LEAD/ sexual abuse/medico-legal care

HANDLE ’EM GENTLY Here are some of the guidelines and protocols for medico-legal care of survivors/victims of sexual violence by the ministry of health and family welfare: All health facilities should ensure that survivors of sexual violence, rape and incest…should have immediate access to healthcare, including post rape care, emergency contraception, post exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention and access to safe abortion services.

Legal Obligations of Health Workers Examination of a rape case shall be done by a registered medical practitioner

RISING RAPE GRAPH 2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

16,373 20,737 21,467 21,397 22,172 24,206

Source: National Crime Records Bureau

December 31, 2014

that all medical examinations for graduates and postgraduates in obstetrics and gynaecology should have at least one question on sexual abuse. “This will help them in future,” she says. Dr Ranjit Roychaudhury, who was adviser to Dr Harsh Vardhan, former union minister of health and family welfare, adds that the course dealing with medical jurisprudence in medical colleges should be upgraded. “There are various regulations in medicine, such as surrogacy, invitro fertilization, organ donation, etc, which doctors need to know. When I was in the Medical Council of India (MCI), we had made changes in the curriculum in 2010 and submitted it to the then government. But before anything could be gone, the governing body was changed. The present government will have to see what can be done, though this is really for the MCI to do.” DOCTORS’ DILEMMA Despite the need to help victims of sexual abuse, the workshop could not come to a consensus on two issues. The new laws—357C of the CrPC and Section 19 Amendment of the Protection of

Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act— make it mandatory for doctors to report such abuse cases to the police. The first issue for doctors is that under the Hippocratic Oath, they can’t break the confidentiality of a patient. Secondly, the POSCO Act clearly says that doctors have to report any Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) case to the police. Shah says: “Often, sexually active youngsters between 16-18 years come to us for MTP. If we report them, where will they go? The girl will go to a quack and could have a botched abortion, while the boy will end up in jail. This is hardly the right solution.” KMM Prasanna, deputy commissioner of police, Mumbai, said that while doctors had certain apprehensions with regard to how sexually abused victims are treated, this workshop was an attempt to ensure better coordination with the police. “The workshop helped bridge the trust deficit. After all, we aren’t working against each other, we are part of the same system,” he said. However, ignorance of the law cannot be a justification for going against the law, he said. The moral dilemmas of doctors (like going against the Hippocratic Oath), said Prasanna, would have to be worked within the law of the land. He suggested that doctors could form an interest group and send whatever changes they wanted in the present law concerning abused victims to the concerned ministry. Nonetheless, there have been legal strides to make sexual abuse victims feel a little safer. For

History taking and examination should be carried out in complete privacy in a special room in the hospital In case of children, illustrative books, body charts or a doll can be used to elicit history of assault.

Health Consequences of Sexual Violence Severe abdominal pain Sexual dysfunction Menstrual disorders Urinary tract infections Unwanted pregnancy Miscarriage of an existing fetus Exposure to sexually transmitted infections (including HIV/AIDS) Pelvic inflammatory disease

example, the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 says that even if there are no injuries on a sexual abuse victim, her sole testimony is enough to convict the accused. This, says Persis Sidhva—program manager RAHAT—is a very important change in the law. “One-third of sexual abuse cases are within families itself. These are often cases of continuous victimization and it is not necessary that there will be injuries,” she suggests. WHERE’S THE SENSITIVITY? While laws have been put in place, implementation is often a problem, says Sidhva. Take infrastructure problems. While the law says that during deposition, an abused child should be separated from the abuser by a screen, this often doesn’t happen, she says. “And though the law disallows any reference to past sexual practices of the survivor, often, an aggressive defense lawyer can question her and it is for a strong judge to control that,” says Sidhva. Meanwhile, FOGSI will disseminate Shah’s information to 225 societies under it, and they will, in turn, spread the message to over 29,310 members. Dr Indrani Ganguly, vice-president of FOGSI, says: “The workshop was very informative for private doctors, most of whom don’t know the stringent laws pertaining to sexual assaults. Even with good intentions, we can sometimes go wrong.” As for the duality between law and doctors’ own code of ethics, she advised that the law should take into consideration the realities of Indian society and

Infertility Fear and shock Worthlessness Withdrawal Nightmares

Examination of Injuries The entire body should be inspected for signs of bruises, physical torture injuries, nail abrasions, bite marks, lacerations, fracture, tenderness, lesions, etc Describe injuries and stains on body Test for pregnancy All evidence needs to be packed and sealed properly in separate envelopes by the examining doctor. All blood samples must be refrigerated until handed over to next in chain of custody

increasing permissiveness among youngsters. The police too needs to be trained to be sensitive and do thorough investigations leading to justice for such victims. RAHAT trained some 750 Mumbai policemen between December 2013 and April 2014 on the amendments to rape laws and case studies where acquittals took place due to shoddy investigation. “This has led to some change in attitude. Whereas earlier the police were reluctant to file FIRs saying the case did not fall under the jurisdiction of a particular police station, now most do so in Mumbai,” says Sidhva. “The police are also softer in their approach to these victims. Society needs to give recognition to those officers who do a good job in assisting them.” It helped, that in Delhi, the father of the victim in the Uber rape case praised the efforts of the police in arresting the accused, Shiv Kumar Yadav, within 24 hours. “It has changed my perception of the police….I am thankful to them for having given my daughter justice,” he told The Indian Express. Meanwhile, Prasanna said that RAHAT’s initiative with Mumbai police had helped lead to greater sensitivity, urgency and awareness among the po-lice. “Women officers and constables have been selectively picked up and given training to handle victims. The information is also being disseminated among male officers so that it makes a difference,” he said. Will all these measures help to make society a safer and more just place for the sexually abused victims? IL

DR RANJIT ROYCHAUDHURY, adviser to Dr Harsh Vardhan, former minister of health and family welfare, wants medical jurisprudence course upgraded in colleges

DR DURU SHAH, managing trustee, Women’s Empowerment Foundation, feels private doctors need to be trained to handle sexually abused victims

PERSIS SIDHVA, program manager, RAHAT, believes that while sexual abuse laws are in place, implementation is often a problem

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

CASE STUDY/ fake sexual assault

The“RAPE” that never was

shocking cases of false rape allegations in order to extort money are coming to light. in one particular case, a father-in-law was at the receiving end of his daughter-in-law’s scheming ways By Vishwas Kumar able offenses against all the accused persons. It also recorded the complainant’s statement before a magistrate (under Section 164 CrPC), forcing the accused persons to seek anticipatory bail.

A MARRIAGE GONE WRONG Vipul and Ashima started having differences soon after their honeymoon was over

December 31, 2014

HE anti-rape law has been misused and has become a substitute for anti-dowry laws. In a shocking case, a 59-year-old Delhi businessman has been booked along with his daughter and son for allegedly raping his daughter-in-law. She made this allegation twice within a gap of two-and-a-half months and repeated most of the circumstances in which the alleged assaults took place. The Delhi Police, despite knowing the facts of the case, which prima facie appeared to be false and fabricated, immediately registered a criminal case under several non-bail-

SEXUAL ASSAULT The court granted anticipatory bail after it found that the complainant was not present at the “scene of crime” when the first alleged sexual assault took place. The accuser, Ashima Goel, was at her parental house in Karnal, while she alleged that her in-laws raped her at their Janakpuri home in Delhi. In the second allegation, the complainant was at her home in Janakpuri (a rented accommodation), while the in-laws were in their own home, five kilometers away. The lawyer of those accused, AK Padhy, said that all crucial evidence from the cell phones of both the complainant and the accused should have been collected by the Janakpuri police before registering a criminal case under non-bailable sections, and that too, against a senior citizen. The nightmare of Rajender Gupta started within five months of his son, Vipul, getting married to Ashima, a resident of Karnal, on January 22, this year. It was an arranged match. While Rajender runs a bookshop in a school run by Ramjas Foundation, Vipul owns an off-set printing press. His sister, Astha, is a teacher. Ashima’s

father, CD Goel, is a lawyer, while she is reportedly pursuing MTech. DIFFERENCES GALORE Soon after their honeymoon in Kerala, the couple started having differences, with each alleging that the other was under the influence of their respective family. On June 16, Ashima filed her first complaint at the Women Cell, Karnal, alleging harassment by her in-laws. The cops started to pursue her complaint. The two families sought help from their Agarwal community. After the community’s intervention, it was decided that the couple live separately from the in-laws. They rented a house in Janakpuri, 5 kilometers away. But within two months, the differences erupted again. In the meantime, Ashima informed Vipul about her abortion without discussing the matter with him. This, along with differences over joint accounts, custody of ornaments, etc, further strained their relationship. On September 31, Ashima’s father reached

The Delhi Police, despite knowing the facts, which prima facie appeared to be false and fabricated, registered a criminal case against all the accused persons. Janakpuri at around 12.15 am and called up the police control room alleging that Rajender had tried to rape his daughter. The alleged assault, he said, took place between 8.30 pm and 10.00 pm on September 30. The cops asked Goel to produce the victim to record her statement and said she would need to be medically examined. However, he turned down the cops’ request, saying she was not in a good mental condition. A week later, Gupta’s family was shocked to learn that the Janakpuri police had registered an FIR (No 962), dated September 31, against them under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 328 (causing hurt by poison), 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (rape), 498A (anti-dowry), 406 (criminal breach

IN HAPPIER TIMES Shakuntala Goel; Vipul Gupta; Ashima Goel; and CD Goel

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

CASE STUDY/ fake sexual assault

The FIR alleged two incidents of rape. The previous complaint in Karnal accused them of a serious sexual assault. The Gupta family says that if they had known about the details of the complaint, they would have ended the marriage.

Anthony Lawrence

of trust), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention). The FIR alleged two incidents of rape. The previous complaint in Karnal accused them of a serious sexual assault. The family said that if they had known about the complaint details, they would have ended this marriage. Neither Karnal’s police, nor the Goel family showed a copy of the complaint despite requests from the boy’s family. EXTORTION DEMAND Surprisingly, both complaints are almost identical. The Janakpuri police, however, overlooked these important facts. The boy’s family claims these accusations were made in order to extort `2 crore. The FIR has shocking details about how Rajender tried to rape her. It says that Ashima’s sister-in-law, Astha, used to tell her about how she should also satisfy her father. It further alleges that on June 12, 2014, she called Ashima to her room and gave her milk to drink, whereupon she became unconscious and fell on the bed. Later, when she became conscious, she found herself naked. It further alleged that the

December 31, 2014

father-in-law too was naked beside her and was trying to rape her while Astha was standing at the door. The complainant alleges that she called her husband Vipul, who came into the room and all three threatened to kill her. “Hearing the noise and my voice, the neighbors also woke up,” she alleges. She left for Karnal in the morning. Narrating the second rape, the FIR alleges that on August 30, around 8.30 pm, Vipul, Astha and Rajender came to C-6A/79C, Janakpuri, and asked Ashima to please her father-in-law. “My sister-in-law stood at the door and once again told me to satisfy her father’s lust. Later, my husband and father-in-law tried to drag me but I made a call to my mummy…” Two months later, the investigation official, ASI Ramesh filed a status report in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Tis Hazari, Sugandha Aggarwal, saying that the Goel’s family allegation against the Guptas was false and fabricated. The Guptas then filed several petitions to prosecute the Goels for these false cases and defamation. Will justice be delivered soon? IL

EVERY FORTNIGHT VIEWS ON NEWS WILL BRING YOU TELL-ALL NEWS, ANALYSES AND OPINION FROM THE SHARPEST INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS AND MOST INCISIVE MINDS IN THE NATION Views On News (VON) is India’s premier fortnightly magazine that covers the wide spectrum of modern communication loosely known as “the media”. Its racy, news and analysis oriented story-telling encompasses current global and Indian developments, trends, future projections encompassing policy and business drifts, the latest from inside the print and electronic newsrooms, the exciting developments in ever-expanding digital space, trending matters in the social media, advertising, entertainment and books. SMALL SCRE

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PEOPLE s and The Line of er Laught ilang 22 Ta Sudhir

FOCUS/ neo-saffronism /fresh belligerence

SABRE RATTLING

while the twin towns of ayodhya and faizabad are peaceful on the face of it, a slow, insidious churning is taking place to radicalize certain communities. the signs are all thereâ&#x20AC;Ś. By Scharada Dubey

Abul Bashar Khan

December 31, 2014

HE sheer belligerence and loud posturing of saffron sympathizers has not subsided after the BJP won the general elections. It is not only on social media that its effects are visible—in fact, here the “Modi wave” seems to have somewhat abated—but across towns in UP. The declaration of December 6 as Saffron Day or “Bhagwa Divas” in Faizabad-Ayodhya is one indicator of strident Hinduism. It is another matter that the followers of Yogi Adityanath withdrew the order on Facebook, but the atmosphere was charged nonetheless. In a departure from previous years, when the VHP had designated December 6 as “Shaurya Divas” or day of bravery and celebrated it in Karsewakpuram on the outskirts of Ayodhya, a group of young saffron activists decided that from now on, December 6 would be “Bhagwa Divas”, a day on which residents would put up saffron flags on their rooftops and temples across Ayodhya and Faizabad. PRIOR PLANNING This is a lot more radical than it seems. While the VHP’s “Shaurya Divas” used to hardly create a ripple across the twin towns, confined as it was to sprawling Karsewakpuram, well off the map for the average Ayodhya denizen, this new twist to an old date commemorating the demolition of the Babri Masjid was designed to involve ordinary people and their families. The official BJP line should be seen against this announcement of “Bhagwa Divas”. The

BJP head of Uttar Pradesh, Laxmikant Bajpai, clarified in a report in The Indian Express on December 5, that they would take action against party workers who celebrated “Bhagwa Divas”. But in the same report, the head of the IT cell of the BJP in Faizabad confessed that they created a special logo for this day and had been spreading messages through WhatsApp. More ominously, the BJP MP from the twin towns, Lallu Singh, says that this is the first anniversary after the BJP came to power with such a clear majority, implying that this was bound to change the nature and scale of the celebrations on December 6. Hindu-majority Ayodhya and Faizabad, with a sizable population of Muslims, are separated by a mere 6 km, making them virtually part of the same city. The atmosphere between the two communities remains largely peaceful. I lived there from 2008 to 2011, and never found the Muharram processions in Faizabad or the pujas and bhandaras in Ayodhya becoming flashpoints of conflict. But this changed in 2012, not only for these two cities, but for other smaller settlements in Faizabad district. It all started on the evening of October 24, 2012. That’s when violence broke out at Chowk in Faizabad, the center of town, with the burning of many Muslim-owned shops. These included those on the ground floor of a mosque that is a prominent landmark and place of worship in the area. There were simultaneous acts of violence in nearby Bhadarsa, Rudauli and Bikapur. This led the factfinding committees to conclude later that

QUIET FLOWS THE SARAYU, OR DOES IT? (Facing page) Historically, Ayodhya has fostered a great synthesis of Hindu and Muslim faiths, as depicted in this skyline of the town (Below) An image of “Bhagwa Divas” that was circulated on social media, and the “Shaurya Divas” event that finally replaced the “Bhagwa Divas”

UNI

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

FOCUS/ neo-saffronism /fresh belligerence

While the VHP’s “Shaurya Divas” hardly created ripples across the twin towns, the plan to organize “Bhagwa Divas” was designed to involve ordinary people. there was a design to the violence, and that it was not a spontaneous rioting. One of the investigators was Amaresh Misra, president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress’ Anti-Communal Front. Several tell-tale signs, such as women and children being warned in advance not to come for the Durga Puja procession, which later turned violent; kerosene and petrol being readily available among the processionists which led to 99 shops being burnt in Faizabad and the simultaneous outbreaks of violence in nearby villages, pointed to prior planning.

ANGRY AND YOUNG Hindutva activists marked December 6 by holding rallies and processions, like this one in Lucknow

BOILING CAULDRON The Faizabad violence was the culmination of a month of simmering discontent because of the theft of temple idols from the ancient Deokali temple on the intervening night of September 21-22, 2012. This temple, believed

UNI

December 31, 2014

to be the place where Sri Ram had his mundan or tonsure ceremony, attracts thousands of devotees during Navratri. And to have a Durga Puja festival without the deity was a huge disappointment. BJP’s MP from Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath, had visited Faizabad-Ayodhya after the theft and made inflammatory speeches, which, while ostensibly asking the administration to act quickly against the culprits, also implied that the idols were stolen by thieves of another faith. Posters to this effect also came up across the twin towns. When the four thieves were finally caught, they were found to be all Hindus, belonging to a gang of antique smugglers. The police intercepted them when they were in the act of exchanging the idols for cash across the Indo-Nepal border. But this made no difference to the young men of Chowk, who decided to enlist as members of Yogi Adityanath’s followers. After the Faizabad violence, one of the young men, who used to wish me whenever I passed him on the street, was jailed for his role in the arson and looting. His mother was a municipal councilor for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and it is obvious the son was trying to carve his own political future. It is this group of political wannabes, with whom I am peripherally connected on Facebook, that made the “Bhagwa Divas” announcement. So, has this affected the situation on the ground? “‘Bhagwa Divas’ has not made any news here, and neither is it likely to affect the local people much,” claims Raghuvar, senior journalist, Dainik Jagran. “They remain focused on their own survival issues and don’t have time for the ideological sparring of political statements. Neither ‘Shaurya Divas’ nor the seminars of the secular brigade have made a difference in the past.” This is an assessment shared by others, but it is difficult to ignore some recent developments that have affected relations between the two communities. One is a statement by the oldest litigant in the title suit of the disputed territory in Ayodhya, Hashim Ansari. He said he was recusing himself from the case after giving it 65 years of his life, and said his desire was to see Ram Lalla “free” rather than a prisoner who stays under a tent supported by three poles. The statement was welcomed by the head of the Hanuman Garhi temple,

UNI

Mahant Gyandas, an old friend of Ansari’s. He even put a ceremonial shawl around his shoulders for this pronouncement. Others from the Ayodhya community of sadhus also lavished praise on Ansari, who has threatened to unmask the likes of Azam Khan and Zafaryab Gilani if they cast aspersions on him for betraying the Muslim cause. ANSARI’S VOLTE-FACE The Samajwadi Party (SP), suspecting a BJP hand in Ansari’s change of heart, is trying to woo him back. The local MLA, young Tej Narayan Pandey, visited Ansari to gauge his mind. While Muslims in the town have goodwill for Ansari himself, they remain suspicious of the larger game-plan. The second factor that has influenced the situation on the ground is a procession taken out on December 5 by the Hindu Mahasabha. The processionists carried the saffron pennant and wore red headbands and scarves reminiscent of the Ram movement agitators of the ’90s. This procession was ostensibly tied to the occasion of the Hindu Mahasabha putting up their candidates in the student elections of Saket Degree College, the most important

Many locals question the constant reference to the horrific 1992 event by activists like Teesta Setalvad, calling it counter-productive. institution between the twin towns. Incidentally, in elections there on December 8, the Hindu Mahasabha and the ABVP-backed candidates got wiped out; the winner was from the BSP, while his deputy was from the SP. It was undoubtedly meant to be a show of strength on the streets from Naya Ghat to Saket, with slogans such as “Jiska ab tak khoon na khaula, khoon nahin who paani hai… (Whose blood has not boiled thus far, it is not blood, but water)”. On Facebook, the young men may have withdrawn their call for “Bhagwa Divas” in response to Ansari’s statement, but on the ground, they want the local population to feel their presence and their clear, anti-minority intent. When I had interviewed Asad Ahmad, an SP councilor for my book, Portraits From Ayodhya: Living India’s Contradictions in 2010, he had told me of the attitude of

STILL HURTING (Above) Muslim organizations of Ayodhya and Faizabad observed Black Day on December 6

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

FOCUS/ neo-saffronism /fresh belligerence

NOW, FOR RECONCILIATION (Right) Hashim Ansari, a litigant in the Ayodhya land dispute, now wants an end to the acrimony

children born after 1992 — if they came in from playing and heard elders discussing the Babri demolition, they promptly ran out again (as they didn’t want to know details of that incident). And that is why the “Bhagwa Divas” has been called—to complete the education of such children and keep them radicalized against the minority community. Gaurav “Beeru” Tiwari, a young social activist, says: “It is true that the Sangh Parivar wants to target youngsters with their own

Dateline Ayodhya 1528: During the reign of Babur, Babri Masjid was built on a site which, the Hindus claimed, was the birthplace of Lord Rama. 1853: First recorded communal clash in the town. 1859: A fence is erected by the British to separate places of worship; inner court was for Muslims, outer, for Hindus. 1949: “Miraculous” appearance of Lord Rama’s idol inside mosque, allegedly placed by Hindus. Both parties file civil suits. Government declares the premises “disputed” and locks the gate. 1984: A committee spearheaded by VHP formed to “liberate” the birthplace of Lord Rama and build a temple. Later, LK Advani took over leadership of the movement. 1986: A district judge orders the gates to be unlocked for Hindus to worship. Muslims protest and set up Babri Masjid Action Committee. 1989: VHP lays foundations of a Ram temple on land adjacent to the disputed structure. 1990: VHP volunteers partially damage the mosque. Negotiations to resolve the issue fail. 1991: The BJP rides to power in UP. 1992: Hindu activists tear down mosque, prompting nationwide riots, resulting in the death of over 2,000. Feb 2002: VHP sets March 15 as deadline to begin temple

December 31, 2014

construction. Volunteers from across the country converge in Ayodhya. More than 58 killed in Godhra in a fire a train bogey carrying Hindu volunteers returning from Ayodhya, sparking widespread riots in Gujarat and killing around 2,000 people. April 2002:: The Allahabad High Court begins hearing to determine who owns the disputed site. 2003: A court-ordered survey, conducted by ASI, finds evidence of temple beneath the mosque. Muslims dispute the findings. 2004: A UP court says the order exonerating LK Advani should be reviewed. 2005: Suspected Islamic militants attack the disputed site, using a jeep laden with explosives. Six killed by security forces, five of whom are militants, they claim. 2009: Liberhan Commission Report (to investigate the 1992 demolition), holds 68 people accountable, including Advani, Vajpayee, Murli Manohar Joshi and Kalyan Singh, CM of UP in 1992. 2010:: Allahabad HC pronounces verdict to split the land in three parts—to Ram Lalla represented by Hindu Mahasabha, Sunni Wakf Board and Nirmohi Akhara. Control of the main disputed part goes to Hindus. The Akhil Hindu Mahasabha and Sunni Central Wakf Board move the Supreme Court (SC). 2011:: SC suspends HC ruling.

version of events, but this could also be a symptom of the competitive currents within the Sangh. The followers of Adityanath may be out to prove that ‘Modi isn’t everything, we count for a lot more’.” But there is another aspect to the situation. On November 30, a seminar on the constitution and the forces out to attack it was addressed, among others, by Teesta Setalvad. “Such events are also counter-productive,” says Vineet Maurya, a social activist. “They rake up the demolition when most people have gone beyond it and want a dialogue on what can be done for Ayodhya instead.” Deendayal, a young advocate, adds: “The event was less about the constitution and more about the worst episode of our history. Such discourse disappoints.” Whatever be the case, on the ground in Ayodhya and Faizabad, everyone agrees that there is as yet no evidence of achhe din or vikas, the twin promises which dominated Modi’s politics during the election this year. Only the saber-rattling has returned. IL

The writer is the author of Portraits from Ayodhya: Living India’s Contradictions and Bol Bam: Approaches to Shiva

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FOCUS/ opinion/neo-saffronism/hindutva agenda/rajendra bajpai

DIVIDE AND RULE Prime Minister Modi with Yogi Adityanath (left) and Home Minister Rajnath Singh (right)

PERILOUS I

TURN

the hindutva agenda is being pushed forward aggressively. this is dangerous and negates the tolerance india is known for By Rajendra Bajpai 26

December 31, 2014

N just over six months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is beginning to show some of its true colours and its fissiparous allies like the Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangha (RSS), Bajrang Dal, Hanuman Sena and sundry other groups are slowly unveiling their agenda of Akhand Bharat and Hindutva to restore India’s glory. That should normally be the job of historians and academics, but members of the Sangh Parivar have taken it upon themselves to bring it to the fore. Whether that means taking the country forward or backward is not of great concern to them. DEAD LANGUAGE HRD minister Smriti Irani’s obsession with Sanskrit is a prime example of that. Sanskrit has been a dead language for centuries and it is difficult to understand what good it will do if it is taught in schools. There are few people who speak Sanskrit and fewer still who will gain anything substantial by learning it. In contrast,

learning German, French, Spanish or Chinese might do a lot of people a lot of good. The trouble is not learning the language but the thought and ideology behind it: restoring India’s lost glory and abandoning anything that is regarded as “foreign” or alien to what Sangh ideologues regard as our culture. Some of the same thought lay behind the unabashed utterances of another Modi minister, Sadhvi Naranjan Jyoti, who asked during an election meeting whether voters wanted a rule of “Ramzades” or “Har**zades”. Obviously, she believes anyone who does not subscribe to her school of thought is a “*******”. These are dangerous trends, even subversive, for underlying these is intolerance of contrary viewpoints. NEFARIOUS DESIGNS Recently, 200 Muslims were “reconverted” to Hinduism, their original faith, in Agra by an outfit regarded as an offshoot of the RSS. They have vowed to bring back to Hinduism another 5,000 people who had embraced another faith. Rajeshwar Singh of RSS said: “We will cleanse our Hindu society. We will not let the conspiracy of Church and mosques succeed in India.” In the initial months of Modi’s inauguration as prime minister, there was an attempt to impose Hindi on the country. This was immediately opposed by the government of Tamil Nadu. For the moment, the plan has been put on the backburner, but it is certain to be revived, for Hindi and its so-called supremacy runs in the DNA of the Sangh Parivar. Hindi has been a delicate and divisive issue and the first anti-Hindi agitation was launched in Tamil Nadu, then Madras Presidency, in 1937. It has the potential of dividing the whole country against the Hindi-speaking states of north India. It is unlikely that the last attempt has been made on imposing Hindi on the country in one fashion or another. The trouble is that Hindiwallahs believe they are more Indian than other Indians and that if you are an Indian, you must speak Hindi and accept it as a pan-Indian language. It is useless to argue with them that India, as it exists today, was never so until the British came and established themselves as the rulers of the country. India was always a country made of scores of rulers, rajas, maharajahs and

Pakistani journalist Hassan Nisar’s argument that if you emasculate history, history will emasculate you, does not impress Hindu supremacists. princely states, with separate currencies, stamps, languages and boundaries. HISTORY DISTORTED But this does not cut ice with Modi’s supporters and members of his Parivar. If they had their way, they would write, rewrite and overwrite India’s history. Sadly, it is already being done in Pakistan and several independent commentators in that country have time and again highlighted the deliberate distortions in Pakistani history schoolbooks. For instance, leading Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi points out that history school books say Pakistan existed as early as 8th century, when Mohammad bin Qasim invaded India and by the 13th century, the Pakistani rule had spread to Bengal and South India. Hassan Nisar, another Pakistani journalist, told a television station that a generation of Pakistanis had been fed on lies and distorted history of the country. “If you emasculate history, history will emasculate you,” he said. These arguments do not impress the Hindi and Hindu supremacists. The RSS is already busy trying to rewrite history. It says history should be rewritten so that it inculcates a feeling of patriotism among school-going children. They are not worried about the realities of the past, of the fact that India was ruled by foreign powers for centuries. It is possible to rewrite history but almost impossible to erase the past. Right now, Modi is on an extended honeymoon with the people of India. His promises are being lapped up by an expectant population tired of Manmohan Singh’s five years of non-performance. But time will soon be running out for Modi too. Sooner rather than later, he will have to begin delivering on his promises and check the divisive forces supporting him and hell-bent on imposing the idea and ideology of the Hindi heartland. IL INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

FOCUS/ neo-saffronism/legal eye/sadhvi niranjan jyoti

inflammatory speeches made by this union minister could land her in trouble with two sections of the ipc By Shailendra Singh

WATCH OUT FOR THE O

LAW

December 31, 2014

N December 2, 2014, while addressing voters in West Delhi, Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, said: “Aapko tay karna hai ki Dilli mein sarkar Ramzadon ki banegi ya har**zadon ki. Yeh aapka faisla hai (you have to decide whether Delhi will get a government of those born of Ram or of those born illegitimately).” The reaction to this highly objectionable and defamatory statement was so strong that parliament was disrupted for a week as politicians across the political divide demanded her resignation, rather than just an apology. Finally, peace was brokered by Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari. And though Jyoti apologized in parliament, it didn’t seem genuine. On December 9, while addressing voters in Trilokpuri and New Ashok Nagar, reports said that she mocked at the furore over her earlier speech, by saying: “Logon ko

WHITHER THIS POLITENESS? Minister of state for food processing, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, taking the blessings of Nepal Kesri Jain Muni Manibhadra Ji Maharaj in the capital, in sharp contrast to her vitriolic postures

As per law, the minister’s statement contains all the required elements for Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, to be imposed.

bura lagta hai (people may take offense)”. Each time, she smiled. But what does the law say on such inflammatory speeches, especially when they can cause enmity between different religions and disturb public harmony? As per law, her statement contains all the required elements for Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, to be imposed. This is what Section 153A says: (1) Whoever— (a) by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between

different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, or (b) commits any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquility, (c) organizes any exercise, movement, drill or other similar activity ………likely to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of such religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. (2) Whoever commits an offense specified in sub-section (1) in any place of worship… ……shall also be liable to fine. As per the facts and circumstances and after perusal of the above extracted provision, Niranjan Jyoti may be punishable under 153A clause (a) & (b) and any appropriate court may take cognizance of thereof. There is another section dealing with sedition which could also be applicable in her case. It is Section 124A of the IPC and the reason it can be used against her is that it has been alleged that her statement can cause disaffection and feelings of enmity in the minds of some groups or sets of people towards the government. Section 124A (Sedition) of the IPC says: “whoever, by words……brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the government established by law in India.” The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and feelings of enmity. Therefore, offenses under Sections 153A and 124A may be made out. Of course, it is for the competent court to decide on the appropriate application of law and conviction in this case. IL INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

FOCUS/ neo-saffronism/ayodhya

DEFIANT

HARMONY

december 6 was the 22nd anniversary of the babri masjid demolition. today, this holy town is a peaceful place where various religions co-exist By Farzand Ahmed 30

December 31, 2014

N December 6, 1992, the 16th-century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, was demolished by a frenzied and trained mob of kar sevaks. As the world watched horrified, thousands of Hindu fanatics clambered on the domes with pickaxes and spades and brought it down. The resulting communal violence led to months of rioting in many parts of the country, leaving many dead and devastated. Today, 22 years later, it is business as usual in the town. There is no tension, only talk of harmony. Some 10,000 Hindus from across the country throng the disputed site for a darshan of Ram-Lalla every day. Muslim vendors and artisans sell garlands, bhagwa dhwaj (Lord Hanumanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s saffron flag), drums, brass bells, shell conches and puja material. And as is common in pluralistic India,

after darshan and puja, most of the devotees visit dargahs and mazaars (mausoleums of Sufi saints), seeking blessings there too. In fact, so interlinked are Hinduism and Islam in this holy city, often described as the Vatican of Hindus, that there are 32 mosques here, where the azaan (call for prayer) often intermingles with bhajans and recitations of the Hanuman Chalisa, leaving one with a sense of peace and well-being. BUZZING WITH ACTIVITY The lanes and bylanes of Ayodhya hum with activity from sunrise to sunset, with monkeys running amok, chasing and snatching fruits and eatables from visitors. Ayodhya has been described in the Atharva Veda as “a city built by gods and being as prosperous and calm as paradise itself ”. In Sanskrit, Ayodhya means “not to be warred against”. According to the Ramayana, Ayodhya was founded by Manu,

the law-giver. During Gautam Buddha’s time, the city was called Ayojjhā. Under Muslim rule, it was the seat of the governor of Awadh, and later, during the British Raj, it was known as Ajodhya or Ajodhia. Ayodhya was a symbol of harmony and is sacred for all faiths—Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists. However, with politics taking on a religious hue in the 1980s due to the VHP-BJP combine, things changed. But it still is a place awash in religious symbols. For example, one can visit the famous dargah of Hazrat Sheesh, the son of Prophet Adam, the first messenger of God. It is part of a larger site which houses the graves of his mother, five brothers and father, Prophet Adam. Then, there is Dargah Naugazi, an impressive grave that is 16.2 meters long and attracts both Hindu and Muslim devotees. Another interesting architectural structure is a decaying minaret that stands tall

ACT OF ABERRATION (Facing page) The inglorious episode in an otherwise peaceful Ayodhya, when the Babri Masjid was demolished by kar sevaks on December 6, 1992 (Below) A busy market in Ayodhya, where people carry on a normal life, prefering to forget the tumultuous years that the town witnessed

Abul Bashar Khan

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

FOCUS/ neo-saffronism/ayodhya

FAITH FLOWS FOREVER Typifying the serenity of Ayodhya, a sadhu is immersed in rituals on the ghats of the Sarayu

mazaars and dargahs here, which were also visited by those who had gone to temples. But now, only some 20 remain. A list of these Sufi shrines can be seen on a signboard in the premises of Dargah Naugazi. No wonder local Muslims believe that Ayodhya is a small Mecca.

There are 32 mosques in this holy city, and the azaan intermingles with bhajans and recitations of the Hanuman Chalisa, leaving one with a sense of peace. amidst temples. People say this minar was erected by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb over an akund (spring) which was covered with a huge iron tawa (plate) as a symbol of oneness with God. A few furlongs away is the famous cave temple, Hanuman Garhi, from where Lord Hanuman is said to have kept a watch over Ram Janmbhoomi or Ramkot, which Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula, the impulsive ruler of Avadh with its capital at Faizabad, got constructed. The temple, built like a fort, houses a golden idol of Lord Hanuman in the lap of his mother Anjani. There is also an all-faith Satyar Temple which has the idols of Lord Ram, Gautam Buddha, Lord Mahavir, an image of Mecca and Madina and a picture of Prophet Zarathustra. A young Muslim fruit-seller, Rizwan Ahmad, says he remembers being told in his childhood that there were more than 80

December 31, 2014

WHERE FAITHS MINGLE So how have Hinduism and Islam sprouted in the same town? Scholars say that from 12th century, Sufi saints used Ayodhya as a center for spiritual teaching. Among these mystics were Qazi Qidwattuddin Awadhi, who came from Central Asia, and Sheikh Jamal Gujjari of the Firdausiya School in pre-Mughal era. Till a few years back, informs Manzar Mehdi, editor of the Urdu-Hindi weekly, Aap Ki Taquat, the Mahant of Hanuman Garhi, used to organize Iftar parties during Ramzan. Sadly, it was abandoned under VHP’s pressure. Mehdi says: “I don’t understand why some people are fighting. Hindus and Muslims in Ayodhya say that outsiders are creating disturbances and defaming the holy land.” The events of 1992 led to a high court decree on September 30, 2010, which said that the disputed land in Ayodhya, measuring 2.77 acres, be divided among Hindus, Muslims and Nirmohi Akhara (which sought construction of a temple to Ram there). But the Supreme Court stayed the high court order and imposed status quo. This order created confidence among Muslims. All India Muslim Personal Law Board secretary Maulana Khalid Rashid Firangi Mahali says that the Board had always maintained that the Muslim community should wait for the Supreme Court verdict. He says Muslims do not want to get trapped in this controversy again. After all, peace in this holy city has been won after much bloodshed. IL

OBITUARY/ justice krishna iyer

A Judge with Fire in his Belly this stalwart of the indian judiciary, who passed away on december 4 aged 100, was a stormy petrel from the start By Fali S Nariman

E was “the Last of the Mohicans”—an idiomatic English phrase that means “the sole surviving member of a noble race or tribe”. Not that there have been no noble judges before or since Krishna Iyer; there have been many and will be many more. But he has been responsible for giving them all a brand name—that of Noble Judge. Of his legal prowess much has been written—and will continue to be written long after he is gone. But few know of the stoking-fire in him! When I was in Cochin in February 2012, he told me a story—true to character and proof that he was a stormy petrel from the start. After the government of Kerala, of which he was a minister, was dismissed by the center, way back in the late 1950s, Krishna Iyer took up the practice of law in the Kerala High Court. He paid his life subscription and was enrolled by the then secretary of the Kerala Bar, CK Sivasankara Panicker, later, Kerala’s advocate-general (and father of Justice KS Radhakrishan, who sat in

the Supreme Court till he retired in May 2014). When Krishna Iyer’s name went up to the Bar Committee for approval, the entire committee rejected him as member, since, as was noted, he was “an avowed communist”. Krishna Iyer then told me the sequel, with his eyes glistening: “I said I would sue them all since they had second thoughts about refusing to enrol a communist after accepting the communist’s life subscription. I told them that my threats are as serious as the one who has uttered them!” And the threat worked. The committee backed down. Krishna Iyer remained a member of the Kerala Bar Association and later, its best and (as it turned out) its brightest son. He showed us till the very end that old men around the world—with fire-in-the-belly—never grow old. They are always alive and kicking, until, in the fullness of time, the unseen Hand pulls them up to the Far-Beyond! May his good soul rest in Eternal Peace. IL INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

OBITUARY/ justice krishna iyer

A LIFE WELL-LIVED he took judicial activism to a new level and was fearless when he pronounced his judgments. adivasis, women and minorities always got his special attention By Ramesh Menon

EGENDARY jurist and eminent Supreme Court judge VR Krishna Iyer was an institution. He made judicial activism respectable and elevated the image of the judiciary with his forthright views, fearless judgments and his passionate commitment to human issues and rights. When he passed away last fortnight at the age of 100, the judicial community felt that a legend who had immensely contributed towards Indian jurisprudence, prison reform and public interest litigation, had been felled. It was Justice Krishna Iyer who resisted all pressure and decided on the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal against the Allahabad High Court order cancelling her election victory. The then law minister, HR Gokhale, reportedly called Justice Krishna Iyer on June 20, 1975, wanting to meet him before filing an appeal against the court order, but he was asked to file the appeal before the registrar. When the case came up on June 24 with Nani Palkhiwala representing Gandhi, the nation waited with baited breath as it would decide the fate of the Prime Minister. Illustration: Anthony lawrence

December 31, 2014

Police officers requested Justice Krishna Iyer to agree to accept personal security guards, saying that his life was in danger. As expected, he refused. But policemen in plainclothes fanned into the courtroom armed with metal detectors to watch. They were so paranoid that something would go wrong that they said that if the courts recessed for lunch, the security arrangements would go awry. Justice Krishna Iyer said he was ready to skip lunch to let the arguments continue. It went on till 6 pm. The verdict was stayed till the next afternoon. Justice Krishna Iyer rejected the appeal for an unconditional stay of the Allahabad High Court order, granting just a conditional stay. The order said that Indira Gandhi could not continue for more than six months. That night, she declared Emergency, cracking down on the opposition and imposing press censorship.

Right from the beginning, Justice Krishna Iyer had a soft corner for exploited workers and peasants and took up their cases, as they struggled with agrarian systems.

ustice Iyer started his legal practice in 1937 under his father, VV Rama Iyer, who was a criminal lawyer in Thalassery in Kerala. Right from the beginning, he had a soft corner for exploited workers and peasants and took up their cases, as they struggled with agrarian systems. He successfully defended several communists when the movement was banned. In 1952, he was elected to the Madras Legislature (at the time, northern Kerala was part of Madras Presidency). Thus began his tryst with politics. Later, he held various portfolios like home, law, justice, power, prisons and social welfare in the first communist government in Kerala when EMS Namboodiripad was the chief minister. The EMS government lasted only two years, but he made a lasting impact as minister, particularly in the area of prison reforms. His steps to uphold prisoner rights are lauded even today. He is seen by legal luminaries as one who laid down important principles like â&#x20AC;&#x153;jail is the principle and bail is the ruleâ&#x20AC;?. After losing the 1965 Kerala assembly election in 1965, he moved back into legal practice. In 1968, he was appointed a judge in the Kerala High Court and in 1973, elevated to the Supreme Court. He retired in 1980. He delivered over 700 judgments and wrote over 100 books.

ll his life, Justice Iyer lived a wellstructured existence, waking up around 5 am. He would then settle down to have his morning tea and read the newspapers, following which he would feed pigeons at the Ernakulathappan temple in Ernakulam, where the birds would often come and sit on his hand while he fed them. His breakfast was akin to lunch, as he would have rice with sambar and vegetables. His lunch looked like breakfast, as it would be idlis or dosas. He loved being different. In the evening, he would often go for a walk with close friends, often by the side of the sea, discussing varied topics. He stayed busy all his life, advocating the rights of adivasis, women and minorities, lobbying for environmental protection and trying to promote secularism. He had an amazing sense of energy and purpose till the very end. Few are lucky to have lived such a life. IL INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

PROBE/ isro case

a false espionage case against this scientist tore his life asunder. but justice seems near as the kerala high court has accepted his plea for action against three kerala policemen who falsely implicated him By TK Devasia

December 31, 2014

HEN a team of policemen barged into the house of S Nambinarayanan, a former scientist with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), on November 30, 1994, and took him into custody, he thought he would soon be back. After all, he had not done anything wrong in his almost three-decade-long career in the space agency. But it was not to be. He was thrown into prison for 50 days and tortured. He had to wait two years for investigators to establish his innocence and four years to get his name cleared by court. He was treated like a traitor for most of this period. After a prolonged battle, the Kerala government gave him a compensation of `10 lakh, sanctioned by the National Human Rights Commission. And last month, after what seemed liked light at the end of a dark tunnel, his plea for action against three Kerala policemen for falsely implicating him in the case, was accepted by the Kerala High Court (HC).

Nambinarayanan says the deep hurt on being branded a spy and traitor drove him to continue the legal battle even at 72 and he will continue the fight to the end.

HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE Yet, Nambinarayanan does not feel that he has got justice. He wants eight senior Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials, who were found by the CBI to be party to the frame-up, to be held accountable too. He has submitted a representation to the union government in this regard. The scientist made it clear that he would go to court if the government rejects his plea. He will also be pressing his original case for a compensation of `1 crore.

What drives Nambinarayanan to continue the long battle? He says it is his strong conviction that the spy case was cooked up by the IB and the Kerala police at the behest of foreign forces to prevent the march of ISRO. He says the deep hurt he felt on being branded a spy and a traitor propelled him to continue the legal battle even at the age of 72 and he will continue the fight to the end. He is fighting the battle alone without any support from any

DAMAGING CONTROVERSY The false case against Nambinarayanan delayed ISRO projects by 10-15 years

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

PROBE/ isro case

“I will not spare the IB” ISRO scientist S Nambinarayanan is a determined man. Dogged in his quest to get justice for himself, he believes that God will be his savior. He tells TK Devasia that his autobiography will reveal more about the role of the IB and Kerala police in this whole sorry episode. Excerpts from an interview:

December 31, 2014

How do you view the HC verdict? I consider this the beginning of justice. The action against the three Kerala police officials will ensure only partial justice. Please note that the IB and the media are also equally responsible. But the media did not fabricate the case. It was misled by both the police and the IB and corrected its mistake and made necessary amends. Hence, I don’t intend to take any action against the media. But I will not spare the IB. It played a major role in fabricating the case. The union government dropped action against them illegally. I have already taken up the matter with the ministry of home affairs and I hope to get a favorable response. If not, I will go to the judiciary. The HC verdict may prompt the union government to correct the mistakes of the last government in exonerating IB officials.

Why do you think the police and IB have fabricated this case? There must be the hand of some agency behind them. This needs to be thoroughly investigated. There were some agencies which did not want India to acquire cryogenic capability as it would put it in the elite club of the US, France, China and Russia. They tried to delay the technology acquisition by demoralizing ISRO. They operated through IB and the Kerala police. IB officers, who interrogated me, wanted me to make false accusations against the top brass of ISRO. Can you describe the tortures you underwent during police custody? I don’t want to talk about the inhuman tortures and so-called interrogation methods followed by IB and the Kerala police. I was interrogated by lowly sub-inspectors and constables, who could not even pronounce the word “cryogenic” correctly. They were unleashed on us by their top brass, who were not interested in knowing the facts because they were hell-bent on

quarter. Five others implicated in the case along with him have left the scene. The case began on October 20, 1994, and involved trading of space secrets to foreign powers for money and sex through two semiliterate Maldivian women. It began with the arrest of Mariam Rasheeda on that day on the charge of over-stay in the country. The telephone number of another ISRO scientist, D Sasikumar, which was found in her diary, gave the case a new twist. The police smelt espionage and the IB, which was called to assist the Kerala police, made it a full-fledged spy case by feeding “halftruths and untruths” to the media. This resulted in the ouster of the then Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran as he refused to approve the arrest of Raman Srivastava, the then Inspector General of Police (IGP), who was his protégé. But Srivastava was later suspended.

fabricating the story. I will describe everything in detail in the autobiography I am writing. Do you find the hands of any fellow scientists behind your travails? ISRO personnel may not have any direct role in the episode. That would have been suicidal. But I am not sure. I think, there was a deeper conspiracy. This has to be investigated further and the accountability of all personnel brought to open. Did you get any support from ISRO in your fight to prove your innocence? Yes, but a little later. Initially, everybody tried to distance themselves from the case. But an open letter written by Prof Dhawan and Prof UR Rao, former chairmen of ISRO, later came as a big relief. They gave me strength to carry on my battle. What about now? I have fought the case all alone for the last 20 years. Others who were

CBI CENSURE However, the CBI, which took over the investigation, ruled out any espionage in the case. In its closure report, it noted that the investigation conducted by the IB and the Kerala police was unprofessional. It indicted Mathew John and RB Sreekumar, joint director and deputy director of IB, respectively, and Sibi Mathew, deputy IGP (Crime Branch), heading the special investigation team of Kerala police, for failing in their duty to conduct the inquiry in an objective and fair manner, and recommended action against them. Based on its closure report, the Supreme Court later acquitted all the accused. However, the CBI has not looked into the conspiracy angle. There are different versions about the forces behind the espionage story. While one section believes it was masterminded by some foreign powers which did not want India to acquire the cryogenic technology

DIVINE JUSTICE A firm believer in God, Nambinarayanan is confident that people who framed him will be punished

implicated with me don’t want to spend another lifetime fighting the powerful government. I will continue the battle till complete justice is done in the case. I believe in God. I go to the temple every day. I want all those who hoisted this false case to be punished for what they have done, not only to me but to the country. I also trust the Indian judiciary, which is above influence. How do you carry on the battle without financial support? I have sold all my property and borrowed money on heavy interest. How has the case cost ISRO and India? The scandal delayed ISRO projects by 10-15 years. If the case had not erupted, India would have earned a substantial share of the launch business, then estimated at $300 million, if we had acquired the cryogenic technology as per our original plans. It is strange that the people who did so much against the country are still sitting safe.

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

PROBE/ isro case

“The scandal delayed ISRO projects by 10-15 years. India could have been a major player in the estimated $300 million launch business.” — S Nambinarayanan, former scientist with ISRO

A CASE BOTCHED UP The CBI ruled out espionage case against Nambinarayanan and indicted RB Sreekumar, deputy director, IB (right) and Sibi Mathew, deputy IGP (crime branch) for dereliction of duty

that the country needs to enter the lucrative space launch business, another says it was fabricated by a faction in the Congress party to remove Karunakaran from office. There is a third section which feels that inspector S Vijayan of the Kerala police had foisted the false case in order to hush up the alleged sexual advances he had made to Rasheeda when she visited his office with a plea to extend her stay in Thiruvananthapuram. Nambinarayanan believes that the case against the officials may unravel the mystery. He suspects the hand of the CIA behind the false case. He relies mainly on a book by former BBC space writer Brian Harvey and the US interventions against India’s attempt to acquire cryogenic technology from Russia. Harvey’s book, Russia In Space: A Failed Frontier?, reveals that India’s attempt to buy the technology ignoring US opposition was the main reason behind the cooked-up spy case. The sanctions imposed by the US, which extended to

ISRO and Glavkosmos, the Russian space firm, supplying the technology, in May 1992, further support this version. The type of people implicated in the case also hold up this theory. The two ISRO scientists and one of two Bangalore-based businessmen implicated in the case, were directly associated with the project for developing cryogenic technology. While Nambinarayanan was project director, Sasikumar was deputy project director and Chandrashekhar was the Indian agent of the Russian cryogenic firm. Both Nambinarayanan and Sasikumar had visited Glavkosmos to facilitate the transfer of this technology as per a 1992 agreement. But Russia backed out of the agreement in July 1993 allegedly under pressure from the US and instead, offered four cryogenic engines sans technology under a new agreement. The espionage case rocked ISRO when Nambinarayanan and his team were trying to indigenously develop the technology. The US had opposed the technology transfer terming it as a violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Though India pointed out that Americans had offered the same technology at a higher price without any issue with MTCR, the then Russian president, Boris Yeltsin, bowed to the US pressure. When the American moves against passing the cryogenic technology became clear, ISRO and Glavkosmos had drawn up an alternate plan to pass the technology to India through another company that was not bound by MTCR, as per Spies from Space, a book on the espionage case by J Rajashekharan Nair. The idea was to outsource the manufacturing of cryogenic machines to an Indian company so that technically it would not be a violation of MTCR. Several companies, including Kerala Hi-Tech Industries Ltd (KELTEC) and Hyderabad-based MTAR bid for the partnership. KELTEC was finally selected because of its proximity to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the presence of several retired ISRO scientists in the firm. Moreover, UR Rao had agreed to take over as MD of KELTC if the joint venture plan fructified. PLANS SCUTTLED However, the spy case scuttled the plan. The case erupted when discussions were in the final

December 31, 2014

stage for floating the joint venture. The IB tried to arrest Chandrashekhar when he went to Bangalore airport on November 18, 1994, to see off Glavkosmos chairman AI Dunaev, who had come to India for the final round of discussions, says Rajashekharan’s book. Glavkosmos dropped the joint venture move after the IB tried to implicate their men in the case. The IB, according to the book, had interrogated Aleksey Vasin, officer-in-charge of cryogenic technology in Glavkosmos at Moscow. They also questioned the then managing director of KELTEC, V Sudhakar, and R Ravindra Reddy of MTAR. The IB also sought to implicate Russian private airline (Ural Aviation), which transported cryogenic equipment and instruments from Moscow to India in a covert manner. The airline had agreed to operate four flights to India after Air India refused to carry the cargo without customs clearance. The national airline was apparently afraid of US sanctions. The job was considered highly risky considering the presence of American spies all over Russia. Harvey’s book also has elaborate references to the overt operation that would have helped India to acquire cryogenic technology much

earlier. Harvey says India had sent “legitimate” trans-shipments of Indian aircraft technology in the return flight to Moscow under the guise of testing them in Russian wind tunnels as a cover. Ural Aviation operated three flights to India between January 23, 1994, and July 17, 1994. Nambinarayanan said that he was on board all three of them. The spy case scuttled the fourth flight. Nambinarayanan and his team were arrested when they were involved in developing the technology with the help of equipment and instruments they got from Russia.

A CHANCE SQUANDERED The espionage case rocked ISRO when Nambinarayanan and his team were trying to indigenously develop the technology

NEFARIOUS DESIGNS Nambinarayanan feels the espionage angle was an attempt to demoralize his team and delay the acquisition of technology by ISRO. He says there was considerable pressure on him from IB interrogators to make false allegations against ISRO’s top brass. He was asked by two IB officials to name AE Muthunayagam, the then director of the Liquid Propulsion System Centre (LPSC). When he refused, he was tortured until he collapsed and was hospitalized. The IB and Kerala police story collapsed after the CBI found that the key accused and INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

PROBE/ isro case

ing the case is too old to be reopened—is silent on the HC order nullifying its decision.

Nambinarayanan believes that the case against the officials may unravel the whole mystery. He suspects the hand of the CIA behind the false case. TOGETHER IN CRISIS Nambinarayanan with his family

December 31, 2014

their living standards did not fit in with spies who earn millions of dollars. While the two Maldivian women, who were arrested first, were semi-literate and incapable of comprehending complex space technology, Nambinarayanan led a modest life without modern amenities like a fridge, car and computer. The Kerala police and the IB framed him without searching his house or office. Nambinarayanan alleges that the Kerala police implicated him in the case as he was capable of analyzing multidisciplinary situations—mechanical, electrical, civil, guidance, control, metallurgy and fabrication—and putting them together. Family members of Karunakaran have also joined the scientist in demanding action against the officials who ruined the lives and careers of many. The state government—which decided not to proceed against Sibi Mathew, who is currently the state’s Chief Information Commissioner, KK Joshua, superintendent of Kerala police who was involved in the initial investigation and S Vijayan, (both retired), say-

TOUGH OPPONENTS Mathew, meanwhile, has revealed his decision to contest the HC verdict. He will be filing an appeal, citing the directions given by two division benches of the HC to the state government to remove the Human Rights Commission’s recommendation for action against him and other officials. The direction was given while directing the state government to pay an interim compensation of `10 lakh to Nambinarayanan. As regards the CBI recommendation, he said that neither the Supreme Court nor the court of the chief judicial magistrate, who accepted the agency’s final report, had issued any direction to take action against the officers. He claimed that the state government dropped criminal action after examining the entire records of the case. Meanwhile, Sreekumar of the IB has poohpoohed Nambinarayanan’s plea for action against IB officials, saying that the last NDA government had examined the matter and closed the file as early as September 2000. The government had issued chargesheets to nine IB officials as per the CBI recommendation in November 1999. He pointed out that the government had accepted their explanation and not only exonerated them but promoted them as well. Sreekumar has refuted Nambinarayanan’s charge regarding his human rights violation, saying that he had neither met nor interrogated him while he was in police custody. He has also termed the scientist’s charge that IB officers had acted for CIA as “baseless and sinful”. He points out that the CBI report submitted to the government in May 1995 did not contain any such charge. “Even today, except for vague allegations about the CIA acting through IB officials behind the ISRO espionage case, there is no specific verifiable and probable information about this allegation,” he adds. But it is a fact that the Kerala police and IB officials did not deny the grave lapses that the CBI pointed out in their investigation. People like Nambinarayanan believe the lapses were deliberate and, therefore, those responsible for them should pay a price. IL

STATES/ west bengal/chit fund scam

Bengal’s Drama King the arrest of trinamool mp, kunal ghosh, has further unspooled the saradha scam and shown his close links to cm mamata banerjee. will his dramatic behavior jeopardize her even further? By Sajeda Momin

LL of us have heard about drama queens. But I know of a drama king—the jailed Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kunal Ghosh—who swallowed sleeping pills in his cell in November to the delight of Kolkata’s print and electronic media. Some dismissed the suicide bid as “staged” but Ghosh achieved exactly what he wanted. He hogged the limelight and tore into TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. It was a very different Ghosh I first set my eyes on in May 2011, in The Bengal Post ’s editor’s office. In those days, he was in love with his didi—Mamata Banerjee. The Bengal Post was an English newspaper started in 2010 by a company called Saradha, owned by an unknown but “rich” Bengali businessman named Sudipta Sen. Today, Saradha and Sudipta Sen are known across the country, thanks to the spectacular way the ponzi scam run by Sen went bust over a year-and-a-half ago. Sen and his executive director, Debjani Mukherjee, have been in jail since April 2013 for defrauding lakhs of poor investors. But with the cyclonic speed that the CBI is progressing, the scam is threatening to now sweep up many TMC MPs and INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

STATES/ west bengal/chit fund scam

UNI

TROUBLED TIMES The chit fund scandal threatens to derail Mamata’s government in West Bengal

Stop Press In a measure of the growing taint of the Saradha scam, West Bengal Transport Minister Madan Mitra was arrested on December 12 for his role in it. He was booked for cheating, criminal conspiracy and misappropriation.

December 31, 2014

ministers in its swirl and throw them into jail, even threatening to destroy Mamata and her house of cards. METEORIC RISE Ghosh, who claims to be “just a journalist”, first came close to Mamata when he worked for the Bengali newspaper Sangbad Pratidin, owned by Swapan Sadhan Bose, a shipping magnate known by his nickname “Tutu”. Bose was close to Mamata and was said to be one of her loyal financiers ever since she broke away from the Congress and launched her grassroots outfit in 1998. In return, Mamata sent Tutu to the Rajya Sabha as a TMC MP in 2005, and when his term expired in 2011, she replaced him in parliament with his eldest son, Srinjoy Bose, whom she affectionately calls by his pet name “Tumpai”. Ghosh’s meteoric rise in Sangbad Pratidin, from reporter to executive editor in July 2012, is said to have happened because he was seen as Bose’s hatchet man as well as the conduit between his family and Mamata. Strangely, he was also CEO of Saradha Media. So close was Ghosh to Mamata that she could often be seen holding his hand to climb up a dias at events. She called him her younger brother and listened to his counsel—or so Ghosh would tell people. His proof of their closeness was that at the annual “Martyr’s Day” show of strength that the TMC organized on July 21, Mamata made him Master of Ceremonies despite him not being a member of the TMC. This was much to the annoyance

of many in the party who felt they had a prior claim. This public show of affection by Mamata sealed any doubts that people had about their closeness. The first time that Ghosh entered the offices of The Bengal Post was just a few days after Mamata had won the West Bengal assembly elections in 2011. He swaggered into the editor’s office wearing a blue kurta-pyjama and a smug smile. Ghosh had summoned all the senior editors of the English daily to offer his pearls of wisdom. He proceeded to tells us that as a close confidante of Mamata, he knew that she did not read any English newspaper as they all attacked her and she didn’t trust them. Here lay The Bengal Post ’s opportunity, Ghosh said. It could become the English newspaper that defended her, and then grinning like a Cheshire cat, he added: “I want Didi to wake up every morning, look at The Bengal Post and smile.” From that evening, Ghosh’s name began to appear on the printline of The Bengal Post as CEO. MURKY AFFAIRS The newsroom was abuzz. Things were getting weirder and weirder. Among the journalistic fraternity, Ghosh had a reputation of a powerbroker, not as a good reporter. Was Ghosh leaving Pratidin to join Saradha, everyone wondered? In 2010, Sen had bought Channel 10, a 24-hour Bengali news channel, just prior to the launch of The Bengal Post. Scathing articles about Sen began to appear in Sangbad Pratidin. Shockingly, a few months later, Channel 10 began to air dual logos—on the top left corner was the Saradha logo and on the top right was Pratidin’s logo. It seemed odd that the channel owned by Saradha did not advertise the other media ventures in its own house, but promoted a rival media house. Saradha and Pratidin had apparently entered into a media tie-up. There were rumors that Sen was doing it to please Mamata as the winds of change were blowing through Bengal and it looked clear that Didi was going to become the next chief minister. Sen would need her on his side if he was to continue with his businesses. Even as the CEO of Saradha, Ghosh did not disassociate himself from Pratidin. In fact, in July 2012, he went on to be promoted as exec-

utive editor of Pratidin. His salary in Saradha, he himself later admitted, was `15 lakh a month and yet, he was never seen to be doing anything to promote any of the newspapers or channels owned by it. In fact, except for the printline, Ghosh did not like to be referred to as CEO of the Saradha group. In a Bengal Post news report immediately after he became MP, he was introduced as CEO Saradha group and he promptly lambasted the editor and told him to refer to him only as MP. The only other time we saw Ghosh was in early 2012 when he forced Sen to hold a daylong Saradha media conference in Kolkata. More than a 1,000 journalists from the Saradha group’s media stable around the country were invited. Ghosh took the stage and then dramatically took out his mobile phone and asked: “Do you know who I have just received a SMS from? Yes, it’s Didi. She has congratulated me for holding such a good event and expressed her apologies for not being present.” He, then, went on to issue veiled threats to all journalists and Sen saying if they did not toe the Mamata line, they would not be allowed to function in Bengal. By this time, Sen had become tired of the GhoshSrinjoy duo and their reported attempts at “squeezing him for money” and wanted to be rid of them. But he was afraid of Didi’s wrath. Before Sen could do anything about the situation, Srinjoy and Ghosh parted ways acrimoniously. With nowhere to go, Ghosh landed at Sen’s doorstep, along with nine “trusted” colleagues Srinjoy had thrown out of Pratidin along with him. Overnight, the staff in Sakelbela, the Saradha-owned Bengali newspaper, were made homeless as Ghosh and his cronies took over their offices. Suddenly, Ghosh was promoted to executive chairman of the Saradha group and his salary was rumored to have been doubled. It was around this time that salaries of all the other media employees began to be delayed, and eventually, stopped. DEADLY DUO By March 2013, Sen began winding up his media outfits, claiming lack of money. Before going on the run, he sent a confessional letter to the CBI accusing Ghosh and Srinjoy of blackmailing him. When the details of the letter emerged in the press, Ghosh defended

UNI

himself by saying that he was “just a salaried journalist”. But his salary was very high even by national standards. Even Srinjoy, the owner and editor-in-chief of Sangbad Pratidin, paid himself a salary of only `5 lakh a month. Though Ghosh would flaunt his proximity to Mamata, he found her distancing from him as investigators into the chit scam turned up the heat. In November 2013, as Ghosh was being arrested, he threatened that if he went down, he would take others with him. In jail, he wrote a long letter to the CBI, implicating Srinjoy and many others in the TMC, including Mamata, in the scam. He definitely managed to bring down friend-turned-foe Srinjoy, who was finally arrested on November 21, 2014. Srinjoy had claimed that he had a business arrangement with Sen, whereby he would be paid `60 lakh a month for giving editorial support to Channel 10. However, investigators found that money paid officially to Sangbad Pratidin spiked in 2011-12 at `6.26 crore, more than media turnover of Saradha. Each time Ghosh is taken to court, he creates a scene. Either he alleges mistreatment by the police and demands that he be allowed to address the gathered press or sits on the ground outside the courts refusing to go in, forcing officers to drag him inside, shouting and screaming. The jury is still out on whether Ghosh really tried to commit suicide in Presidency Jail on November 14 or whether it was just another plea for attention. But one thing is for sure, Ghosh certainly has a stomach for drama. IL

THE UNVEILING DRAMA Sudipto Sen’s disclosures have brought out more skeletons from the Saradha scam cupboard

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

PROFILE/ anil kumar sinha

UNI

IN THE HOT December 31, 2014

EW CBI head Anil Kumar Sinha, who was earlier special director at the country’s foremost investigating police agency, steps into the shoes of Ranjit Sinha, who retired in the wake of controversy. What tilted the scales in his favor? It was Chief Justice of India (CJI) HL Dattu who said that there should be continuity in the probe of the highly-sensitive 2G and Coalgate scams. This was endorsed by Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. Finally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too, agreed with their recommendations. Sinha is the CBI’s first director to be appointed under the newly created Lokayukta Act. It says the director should be appointed by a three-member collegium, comprising of the CJI, leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and the prime minister. The act also provides that the collegium should consider at least two members from the shortlisted candidates, which it did. The other contender was Sharad Kumar, chief of the National Investigation Agency. Continuity in the anti-corruption probe was there, too. Sinha has been with the CBI for one-and-a-half years and as its senior-most official was acquainted with all the important cases handled by it. Sinha is a 1979 batch IPS officer and was picked for the coveted post from a list of 40 IPS officials, which included

12 from the 1977 and 1978 batch. NO MODI PUSH According to a senior home ministry official, Modi didn’t want any controversy in the director’s selection and so didn’t push for any official who had worked with him when he was Gujarat CM. He wanted to send a message to the bureaucracy that merit would be the criteria and not mere seniority. Secondly, he wanted to adopt a “consensus” model in picking the CBI chief. Thirdly, he did not want to bring any “favorites” as the CBI is presently investigating several politically sensitive cases involving opposition parties. Fourthly, BJP chief and close colleague Amit Shah is being probed by the agency. Moreover, Sinha’s bio-data was weighty enough for him to be considered, as he had extensive experience in anti-corruption and vigilance, both at the center and state levels. Before joining the CBI in April last year, he was with the Central Vigilance Comm-

SEAT

PIB

NEW ERA? (Facing page) Newly appointed CBI director Anil Kumar Sinha assumes charge at CBI headquarters in New Delhi (Above) Modi has completely followed the rule book in selecting Sinha

he takes over the central bureau of investigation at a time when its stock is low. can the new chief restore its credibility and image? By Vishwas Kumar INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

Anil Shakya

PROFILE/ anil kumar sinha

CONSENSUS CANDIDATE (From left) Continuity of sensitive scams in CBI was the reason why Chief Justice of India HL Dattu preferred Sinha; Mallikarjun Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha also endorsed Sinha’s selection; Earlier CBI chief Ranjit Sinha had an inglorious exit

SCAMS UNDER SCANNER 2G

(SC monitored) (SC monitored) Saradha chit fund Odisha chit fund Pearls group chit fund AugustaWestland helicopter deal Mayawati’s DA (disproportionate) case Mulayam Singh’s DA UP’s National Rural Health Mission Gangster Sohrabuddin fake encounter Coalgate

December 31, 2014

ission as additional secretary, looking after public sector banks, public sector enterprises, ministries and policy matters. From 2005-2010, he was in Bihar, posted first as additional director-general (law and order), where he raised a specialized force called the Special Auxiliary Police, comprising of retired army personnel to deal with Maoists. He also served as additional DG and head of the Vigilance Investigation Bureau. Known for his innovative ideas, it was Sinha’s brainchild to set up a fast-track court for speedy trial of corrupt government officials and amend anti-corruption laws to confiscate their ill-gotten properties during pendency of trial. He also hit upon the idea of extensively using the Arms Act to seize illegal weapons and proactively prosecute those found with it. All these helped in restoring law and order in Bihar during Nitish Kumar’s first stint as CM. During his first stint on central deputation from 1998 to 2005, Sinha worked with the elite Special Protection Group, which protected prime ministers and held the positions of DIG and thereafter, IG. But heading the CBI is, by far, his most challenging job, especially when its image has been hit by controversies involving Ranjit Sinha. The Supreme Court even took the unprecedented step of asking him to step aside from the 2G probe as there was an allegation of him trying to “sabotage” it. Earlier too, the apex court had termed the CBI a “caged parrot” for always siding with the government.

VULNERABLE POSITION With the apex court monitoring the probe of 2G and Coalgate, the CBI director’s position had become vulnerable. Though the agency and its director technically remain “independent” of the central government, that is not so, as it is dependent on it for funds, personnel, infrastructure, etc. The CBI director had to invariably maintain a balance between its prescribed mandate and the government in power which wants him to toe its diktat. This contradiction was obvious when the CBI probed various corruption scandals that rocked UPA I and UPA II. However, with the change of government at the center, Sinha will not face as many pulls and pressures as his predecessors did. His priority is to restore the agency’s credibility and image. Soon after he took over on December 2, Sinha said: “I accept the responsibility to head the premier investigation agency with deep humility. I am aware of the challenges facing the CBI and would endeavor to work with my team to strengthen the cause of justice and reiterate our commitment to the values enshrined in the motto of the organization— industry, impartiality and integrity. I seek the cooperation of all in the discharge of my responsibilities.” Sinha, incidentally, is the third CBI director from Bihar after AP Singh and Ranjit Sinha. He also belongs to the Bihar cadre. While both left behind a controversial legacy, it is hoped the new incumbent will leave the agency on a clean slate. IL

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THE NATION/ parliament/ winter session/ coal mining bill

All het up over coal the bill to replace an ordinance on coal, which had a provision authorizing commercial mining, may run into rough weather in Lok Sabha By Vivian Fernandes

bill to restore competition in the coal industry had received the kind of reception in parliament that feminine derriere in lycra would in a khap panchayat. On December 8, the government withdrew the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Amendment Bill which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha 14 years ago but never made it to the Lok Sabha, because successive governments, BJP- and Congress-led, were unsure of support, not only from the opposition but also from some of their allies. Private coal mining for commercial sale has been one of those no-go areas like foreign large retail stores, even though exceptions were carved out in the nineties. Private power plants, steel mills, washeries and cement factories were allowed to mine coal for their own use. COMMERCIAL MINING During the ongoing winter session, the government will replace with a bill, an ordinance it proclaimed in October to allow auctions of 204 coal blocks whose allocations (since 1993) the Supreme Court (SC) struck down in August as illegal. The new bill is innocuous, except for a provision that authorizes

December 31, 2014

commercial mining, the same red rag that sent MPs raging all these years. However, given the foul mood of the opposition, the bill may take some knocks. The Centre of Indian Trade Unions of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has declared it will oppose those portions of the bill which go beyond curing the cancellations made by SC. In short, it will continue to oppose private mining of coal for sale. The coal ministryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main concern is to avoid disruption of supplies. It must auction 42 coal blocks before next April, so that mining does not cease in them. These are active mines, which is why the SC made an exception for them while de-allocating the remaining 162 with immediate effect. Fifty blocks of these 162, on the threshold of production having obtained all clearances and

approvals, will be auctioned next. To be eligible, the bidders for the 42 coal blocks should have made 80 percent of the investment in power, steel or cement plants, which the coal mines will feed. For the remaining 50 blocks, the investment limit in user industries has been scaled down to 60 percent. The SC did not prescribe the mode of allocation; it only said that the procedure should be open and fair, though it did make its bias for auctions clear by not striking down coal block allocations to ultra mega power plants (UMPPs) which were awarded on the basis of the lowest tariffs they would charge consumers. Except for state-owned companies to whom the coal mines will be allocated, not auctioned, the coal ministry has now decided that auctions are the way forward.

DIFFERENTIATED BIDDING Even among private bidders, there is a differentiation. For cement and steel mills, the highest bids will be the winning ones. Since both commodities are freely traded, the ministry expects their global prices to temper the bids for coal blocks. As far as power plants are concerned, a different method will be followed. There will be reverse auctions for the coal mines they are linked to. Since power regulators allow fuel cost to be passed on, and electricity consumers cannot choose their suppliers, coal mine auctions for power plants would have sent rates shooting with cascading inflationary impact, the coal ministry says. The winning bids for coal mines will, therefore, be tied to power tariffs. Efficiency in mining and heat generation will be the winning factors; not

CONVENTIONAL APPROACH Private coal mining for commercial sale has been one of the no-go areas for lawmakers

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

THE NATION/ parliament/ winter session/ coal mining bill

should have priced in sovereign risk in their tariff calculations. Already, Anil Sardana, the managing director of Tata Power, has sought a clarification whether the 80 percent investment will be calculated on original cost or revised cost.

On December 8, the center withdrew the Coal Mines (Nationalization) Amendment Bill introduced in Rajya Sabha 14 years ago, which never made it to Lok Sabha. PRESSING CONCERNS Piyush Goyal’s power and coal ministry must auction 42 coal blocks before April 2015

December 31, 2014

propensity to pay the most. “Revenue maximization is not the objective,” says Swarup, who took over as coal secretary in October. During his previous posting in the labour ministry, he won accolades for implementing the information technology platform of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna, the national health insurance scheme for those below the poverty line. The Indian experience has been that in infrastructure projects good intentions do not usually get translated into experience. Bidders try to win at all costs, knowing they can extract concessions or exceptions once they have their foot in the door. For example, GMR, the concessionaire for Delhi airport, persuaded the civil aviation ministry headed then by Praful Patel, to get passengers to partly fund the project with a development fee without rendering any services in return. Regulators also allowed the import-dependent UMPPs of Tata Power and Adani Power to charge higher rates than those on the basis of which they had been awarded the projects in the first place. This was done on the pretext that the Indonesian government has raised the minimum export price of coal. No haircut was imposed on them, though they

CHOKING COMPETITION If the fear is that electricity consumers will be gouged (and they are), the obvious cure is to release the competitive spirit of the 2003 Electricity Act and auction the coal blocks to the highest bidders even among power companies. Conditions should be created to allow big power users, to begin with, to buy the cheapest power from wherever it is available. Power sector regulators have, instead, choked competition. Last January, The Times of India reported that Delhi’s electricity regulator, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, had imposed a surcharge of `3 a unit on those who wished to buy power from whoever they wanted. Open access in Delhi is allowed to consumers with a sanctioned load of one megawatt and above. The surcharge, plus wheeling charges, have made migration from incumbent distribution companies too expensive. Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal says the electricity act will be amended to allow all consumers to choose their distribution companies like they do for telecom services. The best course would have been to first get the new coal bill passed and auction the coal blocks without any end-use requirement. Bidders would have been cautious knowing that profiteering would trigger imports. The SC found that in the 36 meetings of the screening committee for coal allocations between 1993 to 2008, there was no objective criteria for choosing the applicants or giving any of them priority over others. The norms were neither uniform nor consistently applied. There was touching faith in the information supplied by applicants and little verification. State governments were allowed to mine coal for commercial sale on their own or through joint ventures with private companies, in violation of the law which allowed only central government entities to do so. The architect of reforms, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was coal minister for part of the time when the illegalities happened. Even he ensured that the “hidden hand of the market” (to borrow trade economist Jagdish Bhagwati’s quote) remained truly hidden during his tenure. IL

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SPOTLIGHT/ missing children

WHERE’S MY LITTLE ANGEL?

thousands of children go missing each year. is enough being done to trace these kids who might be working in hazardous industries, begging, rag-picking or being pushed into prostitution? By Meha Mathur

RIYANKA Singh, a frail young woman, is distraught. It’s been more than two months since her 18-month-old son, Abhinav, has been missing. She spends sleepless nights, wondering what has become of her cherubic child. “He would be pining for milk in the night,” she says, tears in her eyes. Abhinav went missing on September 26 this year from outside his home in a narrow lane in Noida. His father, Alok Singh, an executive in EXL Ltd, wanted to buy fruits from the market before leaving for office. The child insisted on going too, but when the father refused, he ran outside crying, lying prostrate on the road. As Priyanka came out to calm him, she saw a crowd gathering around a madari (monkeyman). Seeing the

December 31, 2014

tamasha, the child too calmed down. Priyanka, meanwhile, went back to her one-room home to fetch a shirt for Abhinav as he was not wearing anything. That hardly took a minute. When she came out, he was nowhere to be found, nor was the madari there. Panic-stricken, Priyanka called up Alok, who rushed back. They searched the whole day and reported the matter to the police. An FIR was filed the next day and the madari’s sketch released. LUCKY JHANVI What gives the couple hope is the happy return of another missing child—Jhanvi Ahuja. Her disappearance from India Gate lawns on September 28 had grabbed media attention. Even social media was active in trying to locate her, and a Facebook page, bringbackjhanvi, was started by an

Photos: Anil Shakya

entrepreneur, Vaibhav Aggarwal. Finally, on Octo-ber 8, the child was found with her head tonsured and a placard around her neck with her name and her father’s number on it. It’s likely the abductors got scared due to the child’s image flashed all over the media. Seeing the outcome of this incident, Abhinav’s parents too are going all out to retrace their child using the same method, and also held a candle-light march to “bring the home ministry’s attention to the case”. But they are staring at bleak statistics. In 2012, minister of state for home affairs Jitendra Prasada had stated in the Rajya Sabha that in 2011, 60,000 children were reported missing, of whom 22,000 had not been found. Meanwhile, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO working for the protection

of children in India, on the basis of an RTI application it had filed, stated that between 2008 and 2010, 1,17,480 children had gone missing, out of which 41,546 remained untraced. This data was compiled in a report titled, “Missing Children of India”. TRAPPED KIDS These startling figures highlight an equally grave concern: how do these kids disappear and what becomes of them? Rakesh Senger, project director, Campaigns & Victim Assistance, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, asked India Legal to visit the sugarcane fields around Meerut, where the harvesting season was in progress early November. “You will find children working in those fields. Ask them where they are from,” he challenges.

NO HIDE AND SEEK GAME (Facing page) Eighteen-month-old Abhinav disappeared from outside his home in Noida on September 26 (Above) Abhinav’s parents have done everything to highlight the issue and hope that they will get back their son

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

SPOTLIGHT/ missing children

Smile please A Ghaziabad police initiative brings joy to parents and hope to missing children THE Smile project, launched by the Ghaziabad police, focuses on finding parents of kids they have rescued. Ranvijay Singh, Special DSP, Operation Smile, says that the police force is proactive in bringing to safety abandoned and trafficked children and in tracing their parents. While the hunt is on, the kids are housed in authorized shelter homes in Ghaziabad. India Legal visited one such shelter home. There’s eight-year-old Saurabh who is tending to his four-year-old brother, Dabbu. Both were abandoned by their father because of quarrels at home and

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picked up by the police from a temple a few weeks ago. Then, there’s pretty Bulbul, perhaps five years, who resignedly says that her mother just asked her to step out of the car and sped away. Her mother’s red kurta and the black car is all she remembers. Seven-yearold Rohtas from Bhojpur speaks so agitatedly that all we can gather is that he worked in a brick kiln with his father before he was separated from his family. Miraj, 7, from Darbhanga, was loitering outside his home when an unknown “uncle’’ picked him up and boarded a train. Thankfully, the man was nabbed by the police and the child brought here. There was also the pathetic sight of an 11-month-old baby, who is just learning to walk and an infant, perhaps a month old. Hopefully, these kids won’t have to wait long to be united with their families.

He mention the case of two boys from Ballia in UP, who, excited by the prospect of seeing Delhi, ran away from home, boarded a train and were trapped by a gang. While one escaped, the other was forced to work in a sugarcane field for a year. One day, he got hold of a mobile, quickly rang up his uncle and told him vaguely where he was. The police put the number on surveillance and traced the boy. Another boy, whom India Legal interviewed as part of the “Operation Smile” initiative by the Ghaziabad police to restore missing kids to their families, was rescued after five years. Mohit from Buxar, Bihar, ran away with his friend when he was 9 years old, fed up of daily scoldings at home. Both boarded a train, but the friend, who got down at a station to drink water, was brought back to the family. Mohit, who landed in Jaipur, was kept in captivity by a woman called Salma, and made into a rag-picker. His daily meals depended upon whether he met the target or not. Five years later, he managed to escape and landed into the safe hands of the Ghaziabad police. Though rescued, Mohit, now 14, is disoriented, withdrawn, and malnourished. His father too has become an alcoholic, says his grandmother. “His going missing took a toll on the family. We are trying to pick up the threads of life again.” The boy is now in the care of his paternal aunts. These are just a few cases of missing children. In district after district, state after state, kids are falling prey to nefarious, highly organized gangs who are active in human trafficking, supplying children as cheap labor in hazardous industries, agriculture, begging, rag-picking and prostitution. And yes, organ trade too, as was evident from the spinechilling Nithari incident of 2006. They are also sold to childless couples because adoption laws in our country are very tough. These woe-begone kids can be seen as “Chhotus” in roadside dhabas, cleaning

tables and precariously holding tea glasses or singing, “Dil Ke Arima Aasuon Mein” with a harmonium in buses or trains in order to earn a few coins. POLICE APATHY So dire is their situation, that a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court, appalled by the lackadaisical attitude of Bihar and Chhattisgarh governments, gave them an ultimatum to locate their missing children within a certain timeframe. The sheer apathy of the police to investigate these cases came to light during the Nithari murders when scores of body parts of missing children were found at businessman Moninder Singh Pandher’s residence in Noida. Their indifference showed that the poor and their children don’t matter. It also hinted at the complicity of some police personnel in human organ trade. However, the police say they work under tremendous limitations, including staff crunch and lack of coordination between various agencies. JL Sharma, former DGP, UP police, says it’s unrealistic to expect that thanas (police stations) can effectively trace missing children. “The problem will not be solved if we leave it to thanas. This has to be taken at the level of district headquarters and dedicated teams have to be created whose only job is to trace missing children.” He admits that tracing missing children is the last priority for police. “Thanedars don’t even bother to file a report, because it would hike crime rate numbers. They just file a ‘missing’ report, but ‘missing’ is no crime in India.” Lack of coordination is another hurdle as it requires communication at various levels— between police forces at both the inter-district and inter-state level, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit and the cell for missing children in the CBI. There’s also Childline India Foundation, the nodel agency of the Ministry of Women and Child Development that monitors the 1,098 child services, and the government website—trackthemissingchild.gov.in. Of course, there are many private initiatives too. Several NGOs have pitched in to help trace missing children, including Bachpan Bachao Andolan and CRY. A website, missingindiankids.com, run by the National Centre for Missing Children, is the effort of a

The Bachpan Bachao Andolan stated that between 2008 and 2010, 1,17,480 children had gone missing, out of which 41,546 remained untraced. techie couple in Indore to “give back to society”. And the success of “bringback Jhanvi” has encouraged Vaibhav Aggarwal to start another Facebook page, bringbackthelost. PROPER COORDINATION Coordination between all these players seems daunting at the outset, but is not impossible. Dharmendra Singh, SSP, Ghaziabad, says that though there is “no formal coordination, the criminal procedure code of the IPC

CALL FOR CONCERTED ACTION (Facing page) A demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to bring government’s attention to the issue (Top) Mohit with his family after he was found (Above) Rakesh Senger of Bachpan Bachao Andolan

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

SPOTLIGHT/ missing children

NO KIDS’ STUFF These are 2013 figures of crimes against children in India, as provided by National Crime Records Bureau in its report “Crime In India 2013” Kidnapping and abduction (Dealt from Section 363 to 373 of the IPC) 28,167 cases of kidnapping and abduction as compared to 18,266 cases in 2012; 54.2 percent increase. Uttar Pradesh (6,002 cases), followed by Delhi (5,809) account for 21.3 percent and 20.6 percent of total cases, respectively. Buying/selling of girls for prostitution (Section 373/372) Six cases of “buying of girls”, 100 cases of “selling of girls” reported. This is against 15 and 108 such cases in 2012. West Bengal accounted for 69 percent of total cases of selling of girls for prostitution; Jharkhand and Maharashtra were 33.3 percent each.

HOPE AGAINST HOPE? Children awaiting their parents at a shelter home

December 31, 2014

authorizes them to go to any state in search of a criminal. But he says that the cooperation they have got from the police of other states is phenomenal. “If the rescued child remembers his native place’s name, we flash the information and photograph in newspapers of that city, and get in touch with the SHO. This way, we have united 228 kids with their parents since our Operation Smile started.” Senger of Bachpan Bachao Andolan says that they tap into the network of NGOs who are working in this area to locate

the missing children. The need of the hour, says Sharma, is to launch a concerted drive to trace these missing children at select spots like railways stations (where touts operate), at temples and road crossings (where these kids beg) or factories (where they may be found working). These kids should be brought to safety and the police should verify where they come from. In addition, if the police are extra careful in districts where vulnerability to human trafficking is high, this problem can be controlled. Shelter homes also need to be roped in. Acharya Tarun, who runs a shelter home in NCR, says the first need is to register these homes and clamp down on illegal ones from where small children are often traded. In registered homes, proper data needs to be maintained for and information about disseminated on a central network. The question is, does the country feel the pressing need for this effort? Does it care for its poor children and do they come on its priority list? Does it care for the agony of Priyanka, a distraught mother? IL —With inputs from Nitish Pandey

Photos: Anil Shakya

HEALTH / rabies policy

BITE THE DUST

watch out for that friendly dog, it may be carrying rabies. with india accounting for 30 percent of these cases worldwide, it’s time to make it a notifiable disease By Prakash Bhandari

OGS are considered man’s best friend. But few know about a disease they can pass on to humans with devastating consequences— rabies. In fact, it is the 10th biggest cause of infectious diseases, with Africa, Asia and South America being most affected by it. What’s more, worldwide, some $563 million is spent annually on measures to prevent rabies.

A study conducted by BP Poddar Hospital & Medical Research Institute, Kolkata, found that about 30 percent of the total deaths caused by rabies occur in India. According to WHO, around 205 billion people in 100 countries are at risk of contracting this disease, says Chinny Krishna, vice-chairman of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a Chennai-based government body. Since 1985, India has reported an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 human deaths from rabies caused by dog bites. “The Central INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

HEALTH/ rabies policy

A study found that 70 percent of people had never heard of rabies. Of those bitten, only 60 percent received a modern vaccine. Bureau of Health Intelligence, in its last report in 2013, said that there were only 232 deaths due to dog bites. But our estimate is that more than 5,000 humans have lost their lives annually in India because of rabies. Since it is not a notifiable disease, this figure is likely to be underestimated. In order to get an authentic estimate, rabies should be made a notifiable disease,” says Krishna. EASY ERADICATION Incidentally, rabies was discovered in 2000 BC, when getting bitten by a dog was equated with death. The victim was isolated and left to die. Rabies means “rage or rave” and

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comes from the Sanskrit word “rhabas” which means “to do violence”. Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease, meaning it can be transmitted from animals to humans. Controlling the population of stray dogs by neutering and immunizing them annually can help eradicate the disease. The chief executive of the world’s largest dog welfare charity, United Kingdom’s Dogs Trust, Clarissa Baldwin told India Legal that her Trust had cared for almost 17,000 dogs in the UK last year. In the last 20 years, the number of dogs euthanized by the UK government has reduced dramatically from 30,000 to 6,500 each year. In India too, there are various efforts to reduce rabies. Mission Rabies, a global welfare organization that works in Goa, hopes to eliminate rabies from the world by 2030. Its experts, Ilona Otter and Kate Sherveil, say that under a massive program undertaken in September 2013 in India,

60,000 dogs were vaccinated. In Jaipur, Help in Suffering, another organization, vaccinated and sterilized 3,000 to 4,000 dogs, making Jaipur a rabies-free city. According to Dr Jack Raace, a vet here, the estimated population of stray dogs was over 25,000 in Jaipur and this was reduced through sterilization. In Sikkim, Hollywood actress Brigitte Bardot’s Foundation is supporting a program to make it the first rabies-free state in India. “Since 2006, we have been funding a care program of sterilization and vaccination that has curbed the proliferation of dogs and cats. More than 80,000 dogs have already benefited,” says Brigitte Auloy, project coordinator of this Foundation. It is also working in Dharamshala, Ladakh and Bodh Gaya. NO DECLINE Though this disease is preventable, in southeast Asian countries, it is still a public health problem that eats into their resources. In India, the incidence of rabies has been constant for a decade, without any obvious decline. It mainly affects people from the lower socio-economic strata and children between 5-15 years. In the study done by Poddar Hospital, many children who were attacked by dogs were unaware of having been bitten and their parents often ignored the attacks or simply treated the wounds by applying indigenous products such as hot pepper or turmeric. “Very few parents sought medical advice, and immediately,” said the study. Another study shockingly found that 70 percent of people had never heard of rabies, while only 30 percent knew how to wash the wound after an animal bite. Of those bitten, only 60 percent received a modern vaccine. Ironically, in this era of mass communication and advanced health systems, even physicians seemed to know little about proper measures following animal bites. It is only recently that intradermal vaccination, recommended by WHO in lowresource settings, has been practiced because of lower cost and high immunogenicity. However, it requires special training to reduce the risk of insufficient dosing. Sometimes, patients are advised to watch the

“In 2013, the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence said there were only 232 deaths due to dog bites. But our estimate is that it is more than 5,000 annually. It’s time rabies should be made a notifiable disease.” —Chinny Krishna, vice-chairman of Animal Welfare Board of India offending animal for abnormal behaviour for 10 days after a bite before seeking treatment, but because animals can be asymptomatic carriers, such delay can be risky. It would be safer to administer the complete course of anti-rabies vaccination for such a victim. Sadly, though the government has approved a National Rabies Control Pilot Project, due to dearth of funds, dog sterilization has not been successful, says Krishna. “NGOs and animal welfare groups found that the funding was not adequate and was the same as was a decade ago.” Dr RM Kharab, chairperson of AWBI, says that while the cost of sterilizing a dog is more than `770, the government has been giving only `445. Thus, NGOs are no more interested in carrying on this work, throwing a spanner in the works. Meanwhile, the health ministry has started a pilot project in Haryana for sterilization and vaccination of street dogs. If this experiment is successful, it will be taken to other states. Under these circumstances, public education campaigns need to be conducted to make people aware of rabies, especially in remote areas, and of seeking medical care immediately after a bite. Steps must be taken to ensure uninterrupted availability of vaccines in all hospitals and primary healthcare centers. Personnel should be trained in these centers to administer proper vaccinations. School curriculum should include information on rabies. Dr Kharab says that all dogs should be given oral vaccine against rabies and stray animals sterilized. “Rabies should be declared a notifiable disease and incorporated into a health programme in a coordinated manner,” he says. Is anyone listening? IL

Watch Out! These are the symptoms of rabies: Feverish feeling Weakness, body ache, loss of appetite, headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhoea Numbness, burning, itching where the bite took place As the patient gets worse, there is irregular breathing and heart rhythm Hydrophobia—the patient is unable to swallow liquids due to paralysis of neck muscles. As he tries to drink water, it enters the trachea instead of the esophagus and then, is coughed out through the nose. Even the sight of water can trigger a spasm in the body

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

SOCIETY / free education / underprivileged kids

A SCHOOL UNDER A BRIDGE

December 31, 2014

surmounting many odds, this institution has its heart in the right place and is imparting education to more than 80 students from deprived backgrounds By Malvika Saini

T’S a school that has kindled hope among those who have little. Built under a bridge, this free school under the Yamuna Bank metro bridge in Delhi, is almost another home for more than 80 students and five volunteers. However, it’s not easy to concentrate on what is being taught here, with vibrations from a train passing overhead, myriad sounds from the main road and announcements from the metro station filling the room. But the glorious voices of little children reciting tables in unison drowns out these assorted noises. Though dust swirls all around, it does little to hinder the vision of the blackboard. After all, here the “mind is without fear and the head is held high/where knowledge is free…” This free school was started in 2008, when Rajesh Kumar Sharma, a shopkeeper with no formal training, was passing by and saw children loitering near the site of the metro construction. These were children of construction workers, rickshaw-pullers, farmers, etc. When he asked around about these children, he was informed by the parents that due to the absence of a school nearby, they were deprived of an education. One of the parents said: “If somebody is ready to teach them nearby, the children can go and study.” This remained in Kumar’s mind and finally, he and his friend Laxmi Chandra, decided to take the future of these kids into their hands. FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH Today, this school has grown. Around 70 children, who had spent some time here, have got enrolment in government schools. Volunteers come and teach here from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 12 pm. The school only has basic infrastructure. Five rectangles, painted in black on the chipped boundary wall, serve as blackboards. In the five open classrooms, volunteers are teaching subjects as elementary as alphabets or taking classes on Pythagoras Theorem. While the teachers sit on plastic chairs, students get mats from home. A large trunk is the storehouse of the school, and has all the stationary needed for

Photos: Malvika Saini

Volunteers teach in the school from Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 12 noon. Five rectangles, painted in black on the chipped boundary walls, serve as blackboards. it. Children are also given a glass of milk and a packet of biscuits every day. “They can start studying here, but they will not get a degree from here,” reveals Sharma, who is convinced that education is the only hope for these kids. Chandra, one of the first volunteers, says: “We are students from poor backgrounds with ability, but no money. This is just an initiative to help children who are going through the same situation now.” Like Sharma, he too believes that if the fire of learning is inculcated, the children will find their own path and go places. While this school is unlike those with digital blackboards and AC classrooms, it’s a selfless attempt at imparting knowledge among children who have little. And when the son of a flower vendor here dreams of becoming a doctor or the daughter of a construction worker proudly shows that she can write her name in English, then you know that the school has achieved its purpose. IL

FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE (Facing page) Students attending a class in the free school right under the metro railway bridge (Above) The school has succeeded in making children realize the value of education

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ sino-tibet tangle

China’s Ancient Curse the han state’s geography is a key determinant in its expansionist policy, primarily aimed at creating buffers to protect the core

By Zhixing Zhang

The buffer zones of China Manchuria

Inner Mongolia Xinjiang

Tibet

I N D I A

December 31, 2014

C H I N A

Yunnan

ERE begins our tale: The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.” This opening adage of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, China’s classic novel of war and strategy, best captures the essential dynamism of Chinese geopolitics. At its heart is the millennia-long struggle by China’s would-be rulers to unite and govern the all-but-ungovernable geographic mass of China. It is a story of centrifugal forces and of

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insurmountable divisions rooted in geography and history, but also—and perhaps more fundamentally—of centripetal forces toward eventual unity. This dynamism is not limited to China. The Scottish referendum and waves of secession movements—from Spain’s Catalonia to Turkey and Iraq’s ethnic Kurds—are working in different directions. More than half a century after World War II triggered a wave of postcolonial nationalism that changed the map of the world, buried nationalism and ethnic

identity movements of various forms are challenging the modern idea of the inviolable unity of the nation-state. Yet, even as these sentiments pull on the loose threads of nations, in China, one of the most intractable issues in the struggle for unity—the status of Tibet—is poised for a possible reversal, or at least a major adjustment. The long-running but frequently unnoticed negotiations have raised the possibility that the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader, may be nearing a deal that would enable him to

NO MEETING GROUND (Above) Tibetan demonstrators protest during a visit by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang to Downing Street in London on June 17, 2014.

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ sino-tibet tangle

LONG MARCH (Above) The Dalai Lama’s escape to India in 1959 (Right) The Dalai Lama with his followers at Manhattan Centre, New York

return to his Tibetan homeland. If it happens, it would end the Dalai Lama’s exile in Dharamsala, India—an exile that began after the Tibetan uprising in 1959, nine years after the People’s Republic of China annexed Tibet. More important, a settlement between Beijing and the Dalai Lama could be a major step in lessening the physical and psychological estrangement between the Chinese heartland and the Tibetan Plateau. TIBET AND SELF-DETERMINATION The very existence of the Tibetan issue bespeaks several overlapping themes of Chinese geopolitics. Most fundamentally, it must be understood in the context of China’s struggle to integrate and extend control over the often impassable but strategically significant borderlands militarily and demographically. These borderlands, stretching from northeast to the southwest—Manchuria, Mongolian Plateau, Xinjiang, Tibet and the Yunnan Plateau—form a shield, both containing and protecting a unified Han core from overland invasion. In attempting to

December 31, 2014

integrate these regions, however, China confronts the very nature of geographic disintegration and the ethnic identities in these restive borderlands, which have sought to resist, separate or drift away from China at times when weak central power has diminished the coherence of China’s interior. Tibet, in many ways, represents the extreme edge of this pattern. Indeed, while the formidable geography of the Tibetan Plateau (its altitude averages 4.5 kilometers, or almost 2.8 miles, above sea level) largely inured it from most frontier threats to the Han core compared with the more accessible Manchuria, Mongolian Plateau or Xinjiang, perhaps no borderland is as fraught with as much consequence as Tibet under China’s contemporary geopolitical circumstances. The Tibetan Plateau and its environs constitute roughly one-quarter of the Chinese landmass and are a major source of freshwater for China, the Indian subcontinent and mainland Southeast Asia. The high mountains of the Himalayas make a natural buffer for the Chinese heartland and shape the complex geopolitical rela-

tionship between China and India. Historically, China’s engagement with the Tibetan Plateau has been lacking and not characterized by national unity. Starting in the 7th century, China made sporadic attempts to extend its reach into the Tibetan Plateau, but it wasn’t until the Qing dynasty that the empire made a substantial effort to gain authority over Tibetan cultural and social structures through control of Tibetan Buddhist institutions. The weakening of China after the Qing dynasty led peripheral states, including Tibet, to slip from Chinese central rule. Since the People’s Republic of China began ruling over Tibet in 1950, the perennial struggle manifested as political, religious and psychological estrangement between political power in Beijing and the Dalai Lama, the

Negotiations between Beijing and the Dalai Lama have raised the possibility that he may be nearing a deal that would enable him to return to his homeland. charismatic political and spiritual symbol of the Tibetan self-determination movement, who consistently has resisted China’s full domination over Tibet. Here, the nominally impersonal process of geopolitics confronts the rare individual who has a lasting impact. The Dalai Lama has concentrated the Tibetan cause into himself and his image. It is the Dalai Lama who represents the Tibetan identity in foreign capitals and holds a fractious Tibetan movement together, holding sway over both indigenous Tibetans in the homeland and the old and new generations of Tibetan exiles. PERENNIAL STRUGGLE Under the People’s Republic, China has some of the clearest physical control and central authority over one of the largest and most secure states in its dynastic history. However, the ancient compulsion to secure the Chinese periphery did not go unaddressed by China’s Communist leadership. Over the years, the central government has pushed aggressively to bolster Han Chinese economic and demographic dominance INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ sino-tibet tangle

Dharamsala

Mundgod Gurupura

GLOBAL SUPPORT BASE (Above) The Dalai Lama with Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, who endorsed the Tibetan cause and incurred China’s wrath; (Facing page) The Buddhist spiritual leader with US President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington in February 2014

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over the borderland while attempting to overcome the physical barriers of distance through grandiose infrastructure projects, including road and rail links. And yet, the estrangement with the Dalai Lama has left Beijing dealing with the perception that its control over the Tibetan Plateau is partial and of questionable legitimacy. Meanwhile, the Dalai Lama’s international prestige exposed the central power in Beijing to numerous international critics. Moreover, it offered New Delhi an opportunity to exploit Beijing’s concerns by hosting the Dalai Lama. Beijing sees no space to allow the autonomy demanded by the Tibetan exile movement; it is a short path from robust autonomy to direct challenge. Beijing’s strategy has been to try to undermine the Dalai Lama’s international prestige, constrain interaction between

Tibetan settlements in India HIMACHAL PRADESH

KARNATAKA Bylakuppe

the exile community and Tibetans at home and hope that when the spiritual leader dies, the absence of his strong personality will leave the Tibetan movement without a center and without someone who can draw the international attention the Dalai Lama does. Central to Beijing’s calculation is interference in the succession process whereby Beijing claims the right to designate the Dalai Lama’s religious successor and, in doing so, exploit sectarian and factional divisions within Tibetan Buddhism. Beijing insists the reincarnation process must follow the Tibetan religious tradition since the Qing dynasty, meaning that it must occur within Tibetan territory and with the central government’s endorsement, a process that highlights Tibet’s position as a part of China, not an independent entity. Beijing’s plan could work, but the cost would be high. Without recognition from the Dalai Lama, Beijing’s appointed successor— and by extension, Beijing’s authority in Tibet —can hardly be accepted by the wider Tibetan community. To resist Beijing’s attempt at interference, the Dalai Lama has in recent years made various statements signaling that the ancient traditions of the succession process could break. In particular, the Dalai Lama has discussed the potential for succession through emanation rather than reincarnation. This would place his knowledge and authority in several individuals, each with a part of his spiritual legacy, but none as the

single heir. Emanation can occur while the Dalai Lama is alive, thus giving him the ability to manage a transition. He has also mentioned the possibility that no successor will be named —that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will end, leaving his legacy as the lasting focus for Tibetans. More concretely, the Dalai Lama has split the role of spiritual and political leadership of the Tibetan movement, nominally giving up the latter while retaining the former. In doing so, he is attempting to create a sense of continuity to the Tibetan movement even though his spiritual successor has not been identified. However, it also separates the Dalai Lama from any Tibetan political movement, theoretically making it easier for the spiritual leader and Beijing to come to an accord about his possible return as a spiritual—but not political —leader. But the manoeuvring by the Dalai Lama reflects a deeper reality. The Tibetan movement is not homogenous. Tibetan Buddhism has several schools that remain in fragile coordination out of respect for the Dalai Lama. The Tibetan political movement is also

To resist Beijing’s interference, the Dalai Lama has made various statements signaling that the ancient traditions of the succession process could break. fragmented, with younger foreign-born Tibetans often more strongly pressing for independence for Tibet, while the older exiles take a more moderate tone and call for more autonomy. The peaceful path promoted by the Dalai Lama is respected, but not guaranteed forever, by the younger and more radical elements of the Tibetan movement, which have only temporarily renounced the use of violence to achieve their political goals. As uncertainties loom for both sides amid concerns about the spiritual leader’s age and the changing domestic dynamics facing China’s new president, Xi Jinping, both sides could see a departure from previous hostilities as a reasonable step toward a low-cost settlement. In other words, both Beijing and the Dalai Lama—and by extension his

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INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

GLOBAL TRENDS/ sino-tibet tangle

Beijing is unlikely to give any concession in its authority to appoint a reincarnated spiritual leader, and the Dalai Lama shows little intention of allowing Beijing’s unilateral move.

IN “DO OR DIE” MODE Tibetan exiles are detained by police during a protest outside the venue of a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on September 18, 2014

December 31, 2014

mainstream followers—understand how little time they have and how, without a resolution, the uncertainties surrounding the Tibet issue could become permanent after the spiritual leader’s death. CAUTION AHEAD The report of the Dalai Lama’s possible return to Tibet comes as Beijing has resumed talks with representatives of the spiritual leader. In recent weeks, the Dalai Lama has offered conciliatory comments about Xi and intimated that he could be open to returning to Tibet, a longstanding desire of the 79-year-old spiritual leader. For its part, Beijing has released some Tibetan political prisoners and reportedly allowed the Dalai Lama’s image and words to be used in certain Tibetan regions after years of prohibition. In moving toward an agreement, both sides would have to prepare for some political risk. For Beijing, the foremost concern would be managing the enormous religious influence of the Dalai Lama at home, where he is seen as a challenger to the Communist Party’s political leadership. For the Dalai Lama, the main concerns would be managing the role of the Tibetan political leadership overseas and the potential repercussions within the exile movement from the developing settlement’s contrast with their goal for Tibetan autonomy. Perhaps more important, even if there were signs of a resolution developing, the succession issue is likely to be a roadblock.

CONFRONTING THE CURSE Again illustrating how an individual can play a role in geopolitics, the potential for reconciliation between Beijing and the Dalai Lama could affect the balance between China and India. China has long viewed India’s decision to host the Tibetan government-in-exile as a hostile gesture. However, India’s ability to exploit China’s concerns about Tibet has diminished along with the government-inexile’s influence and claim to represent Tibet as a legitimate entity. Already, New Delhi has shown waning enthusiasm for accepting Tibetan refugees. However, a settlement would not eliminate the underlying geopolitical rivalry between India and China on other fronts — from their 4,000-kilometer land border to the maritime competitions in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea and their competition for energy and other resources. Even if a settlement on the Tibet issue emerges in the distant future, it does not mean the end of the China-Tibet struggle. Quite likely, a detente with the Dalai Lama will result in radicalized and more extremist elements emerging overseas, seeking self-determination and, like many of their counterparts around the world—from Scotland to the Kurds in the Middle East—challenging the centripetal forces of nation-states. Historically, when Han China is strong, so is its control over these buffer regions. Control of the buffer regions, in turn, is a key precondition for a strong and secure Han China. This arrangement will become crucial as Beijing grapples with the potential challenges in the social, economic and political transformation in the Han core in the coming years. Therefore, despite the flux mentioned in the aphorism from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, for Beijing the ultimate goal is to confront an ancient geopolitical curse by cementing its control over its borderlands and uniting China permanently and irreversibly, however unrealistic this goal might be. IL

Courtesy Stratfor

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BOOK REVIEW/ can you teach a zebra some algebra?

To Sir, with Love

getting good teachers is a life-long gift. this book speaks about learning, education, teachers and most importantly, the student, whom everyone has forgotten

By Shobha John

SKEWED FOCUS (Above) The book slams the Indian education system for its failure to nurture creativity (Facing page top) One of the chapters deals with teachers and says that they should be constantly learning, be vibrant and inquisitive (Facing page below) Chatterjee at one of his classes

December 31, 2014

AVE you come across a teacher who has remained in your mind and heart forever? Who lifted you from the boring drone of a classroom lecture and transported you to exciting realms? Who opened the windows of your mind and changed the course of your thinking? Most would be hard put to remember even one such teacher. Sad, considering that teachers are the “channels through which the DNA of human civilization is transferred from one generation to the next”. Unfortunately, Indian education is mired in mediocrity, leading to students who are Jacks of all trades and masters of none. And yet, true education is about mastery, of being a better student and an even better human being. And that is why Debashis Chatterjee’s book, Can

You Teach a Zebra Some Algebra? is an important guide into what makes a good teacher and an even better society. While the title of the book itself is catchy and provoking, the cover achieves the same purpose with its brilliant yellow interspersed with zebra stripes. Coming from an established and renowned teacher—Professor Chatterjee taught leadership classes at Harvard University and various Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), and was director at IIM-Kozhikode— his short and pithy chapters of wisdom should be taken seriously. The book, as the preface says, “is about learning, teaching and being”. Learning continues throughout one’s life, and yet, true education is about achieving mastery. And that, says Chatterjee, should be our mission in life. The book is dedicated to J Krishnamurti

Guru Gyan These are some words of wisdom from the book, Can You Teach a Zebra Some Algebra?

and the numerous teachers who taught Chatterjee “how to live”. DERIVING ANANDA Each chapter is thought-provoking and easy to read. One of them—Ananda is the Core of Learning—tells us that each of us has some genius, but in order to find it, one needs gurus who will impart lessons which have nothing to do with the subject, but has everything to do with the student. Chatterjee remembers the advice of one of his gurus: “Devote your life to matters of consequence,” and “Do not live too much inside your head.” It is so true—we often dissipate our energy on useless things, losing focus. And in learning things, we often forget

that ananda (delight) is the core of the learning process. The book tells us that “it is difficult to find happiness within oneself, but it is impossible to find it anywhere else.” This is inspirational, quite a “chicken soup” for the soul. Here is another gem from a chapter on A Learned Teacher… It says there is a difference between a learned man and a man of learning. “A learned man is tied to the knowledge of the past. A man of learning is curious about the present.” And teachers should be constantly learning, be vibrant and inquisitive, not put the whole class to sleep. Lessons can be learnt from illiterates too. The book also draws a distinction between excellence and expertise. “Where expertise fails, the quest for excellence begins.” And while many of us are in the race for more qualifications and experience, how many of us train ourselves in professional excellence, which is the result of “developing a quality mind through constant awareness”? Excellence is a journey without a finish line. And Chatterjee knows all about it, considering that he has taught numerous students and trained over 11,000 principals and 15,000 managers globally in leadership. He was also awarded the Fulbright Fellowship at Harvard and has written 17 books. This writer attended one of his

A great teacher does not take sides, he brings the sides together. Creativity rarely comes from having more things around us. Between a well intentioned teacher and a disappointed learner, there is a huge loss of transmission. Routine is important; rotting is not. Knowledge should never be hoarded. It should rather be used like a disposable tissue. Teachers bridge the gap between our past and our future. Every creature in nature is a teacher. It is not enough to just have thoughts. We have to have the right thought at the right time.

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

BOOK REVIEW/ can you teach a zebra some algebra?

Creativity can never be taught. And a good teacher would do well to help students hone this skill by giving unstructured reflection time. But is our education system ready? AS BAD AS A CRIME Disinterested students take a nap as the teacher is unable to connect with them. This is akin to culpable homicide, says the author

Can You Teach a Zebra some Algebra? By Debashis Chatterjee Published by Wisdom Tree Pages: 155; `245

December 31, 2014

sessions with teachers in Delhi and found it engrossing and engaging. CREATIVE HIGH The Indian education system comes in for criticism too, as it does little to nurture or kindle creativity. Creativity, the book tells us, is the art and science of bringing forth something out of nothing. Creativity comes from complete absorption in the creative process and therefore, the best managerial decisions come from complete absorption in the decision-making process. Creativity can never be taught. And a good teacher would do well to help students hone this skill by giving them enough unstructured reflection time. But is our education system and the constant rat race geared for that? There is good advice here for teachers too. A teacher who cannot connect with learners, says Chatterjee, is boring a generation to death. Such a person “is guilty of culpable homicide. If he is not killing them, he is creating permanent learning disabilities”. And while covering the curriculum is a constant obsession with teachers, they also need to see the enchantment inside the learner. Luckily, teachers can be found everywhere. Each person can be a potential teacher. But a qualified teacher may not always be a quality teacher. Teaching, after all, is a craft, rather than a qualification. And learning to be a good teacher is like making vintage wine—it needs time and culture, he says. But one wonders how these provocative thoughts fit into today’s Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation process. Today’s teachers are an unhappy lot, says Chatterjee, caught as they are between the government, ruthless managements, competitive co-workers and meager salaries. But then, joylessness is a learnt behavior. “Whenever we access the source of joy inside us, we get organized outward to capture it,” the book tells us sagely. The way out is to have a life of creation, advises the book. When success includes others, the teacher will be compassionate. He tells

the story of a teacher who wanted to retire as a farmhouse owner. One of his favorite students bought a farmhouse and told him he could live there as long as he was alive. So didn’t the teacher get his farmhouse eventually? We live through the success of others. Deep thoughts to ponder over. ASCETIC AND AESTHETIC As for the future of education, it will belong to “imagineers”, those with such spell-binding imagination that they can even merge it with sophisticated engineering. “The world of the future will be an exquisite synthesis of logic and lyric; the ascetic and the aesthetic,” the book says. Meanwhile, the reality of education is that often it is a money-making racket, quite like a real estate business, where swanky buildings, AC classrooms and swimming pools rule the roost. But Chatterjee warns: “Making money out of money without creating anything of intrinsic human value is the by-product of unconscious capitalism.” So what is the way out? Follow Mother Teresa’s advice: “Small work with great love is the mantra of micro-excellence.” And yes, that goes even for a difficult yogic posture. “Put love into your posture.” And while most of us are takers, seers will tell you that “to give is to live. If we are only for getting, we will be forgotten by the universe”. And therein lies the beauty of this book. Chatterjee, like a true teacher, has been giving his wisdom, his learning and his compassion to numerous people all over the world. Quite a satisfying life. IL

COURTS

Battle against liquor astigating governments for according priority to revenue at the cost of safety and health as far as running the liquor business is concerned, the Madras High Court pointed out they should pay heed to the menace of alcoholism. Delivering the judgment in an accident compensation case, the court stated that the habit was responsible for road deaths, numerous social evils and the ruin of families. Taking a dig at the governments, it

observed that while water was in short supply, liquor was flowing in all parts of India. Noting that there was no initiative on the part of governments to achieve total prohibition, as enshrined in the constitution, the court felt that at the least they should restrict sale of liquor by keeping vends open for eight hours, instead of 12. The high court raised 16 queries and asked the center and states to respond. Illustrations: Aruna

Verdict for LN Mishra case he adage “better late than never” is probably apt for the LN Mishra case. Considered one of the longest criminal cases in independent India, judgment in the case finally came through in the trial that dragged on for nearly 40 years. It was presided over by more than 20 judges, with over 200 witnesses giving their statements in courts. A Delhi court convicted Santoshananda Avadhuta, Sudevananda Avadhuta, Gopalji and

advocate Ranjan Dwivedi for killing the former railway minister. Santoshananda, Sudevananda as well as Gopalji were members of the Ananda Margi group, while Dwivedi, who was on bail, was carrying on his legal practice in Delhi. Their sentence will be decided by the court on December 15. Mishra, a member of Indira Gandhi’s cabinet, died when a bomb exploded at a function he was attending at Bihar’s Samastipur station on January 2, 1975.

Admission blues

Pollution matters

ursery admissions in Delhi schools came back to haunt parents. The Delhi High Court shot down norms set by the lieutenant governor (LG) of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, last year, and accorded full freedom to private, unaided schools to frame guidelines on the ground that it was their fundamental right. The LG’s order in December 2013 had brought in the inflexible points system and considerably delayed the admission process. But after the high court judgment, criteria such as neighborhood, sibling and alumni are no longer a must for general category admissions. The court was hearing a plea of a forum representing private schools raising objections to the LG’s order.

oncerned over the poor air quality of Delhi, the National Green Tribunal banished vehicles more than 15 years old from the capital’s roads. The ban will affect 10 lakh vehicles. The order was one of the bouquet of steps taken by the green court to bring down pollution. These include a ban on burning of waste in open spaces, checks on parking and strict monitoring of trucks that enter Delhi. While responding to a petition on pollution, the court ruled that vehicles more than 15 years will neither be registered, nor will their registration be renewed. The court also ruled that these vehicles can’t be parked in public areas.

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

ART & ENTERTAINMENT/ film review / court

A slice of life this debut film of chaitanya tamhane is a scathing comment on the indian judicial system and the sufferings of the poor By Somi Das

OURT scenes have always been an important motif in our films. For many of us who have never been entangled in a legal case, films have served as our only window to visualize court settings. Chaitanya Tamhane’s debut film, Court, however, will shatter your perceptions about court proceedings. It deals with daily hearings in a sessions court in Mumbai. And Tamhane has got it right, as Court has already bagged the Best Debut Film award at the 71st Venice International Film Festival and Best Film Award at the Mumbai Film Festival. But when watching the film, you might well ask why the film won so many awards. The camera work is ordinary and the narrative, linear. There aren’t any complexities or scenes that leave you devastated the way Shahid, a 2013 courtroom drama based on the life of lawyer-activist Shahid Azmi, did. VERY REAL However, it’s only after the watching the film that you realize it is brutally real. This is evident in the grim settings of a lower court, the “I-don’t-give-a-damn” attitude of the judge and the deliberate attempt of every party involved to delay the case. To back this, the 27-year-old director has a brilliant story too. A 65-year-old social activist and folk singer, Narayan Kamble, is arrested on charges of abetting the suicide of a sewage worker. The police claims that Kamble, during a performance in a Dalit locality, sang a song asking all sanitary workers to commit suicide in sewer tanks by inhaling the poisonous gases. Kamble is being defended by a young, motivated lawyer, Vinay Vora, who belongs to a rich Gujarati family. Vora is

December 31, 2014

being opposed by fiery public prosecutor Nutan, who comfortably slips out of her black lawyer’s robe to done an apron while happily cooking for her family. Tamhane smartly intercuts court scenes with the lives of his characters outside the court. While Nutan’s idea of a perfect holiday is a family outing and watching anti-North Indian Marathi plays, her rival Vora spends his leisure time in the company of female friends in a bar. As for the judge, breaking for summer vacations and going on a trip is far more important than the fate of the accused. On days when he is too tired to hear a case, he simply cites ridiculous laws to postpone the hearing. In one instance, he refuses to hear a case because the respondent in the case is clad in a sleeveless dress, which he deems as “inappropriate”—a valid reason for a judge not to hear a case, according to statute books. The prime accused in the case, Kamble, seems to be the only one who has a purpose in his life and is ready to suffer for it. Even after Vora painstakingly secures bail for him, he goes back to Dalit bastis to sing rebel songs and produce literature that is considered “anti-national”. Within days, he is back in jail with a new case against him. Tamhane says in an interview: “The judiciary is an authorized, but violent institution that metes out life and death judgments. It’s one of those platforms where otherwise bracketed people from across class and cultures interact and entwine.” Daily court proceedings not only reveal cracks in our archaic judicial system but also expose how insensitive it is towards the poor. One moving scene is when the wife of the sewage worker, called as witness, tells the court that her husband was never given any safety gear to enter the sewer tanks. He would drink alcohol to keep off the foul smell and

enter only if he spotted a living cockroach in the tank —a sign of life inside tons of human waste. The sheer apathy of society hits you. But Tamhane creates no fuss about it. No music. No tears. He makes his character say all this in a matterof-fact way. All that the wife wants is for the case to end and a job to support the family. Tamhane’s Court is a melting pot of people from different castes, classes and sensibilities. Thus, the lack of sympathy of one party towards another. Thus, Nutan is frustrated that she has to see the same faces in court everyday and so wants harsh punishment for Kamble, little realizing the ramifications of such a verdict on his family. In one stroke, the film touches a range of issues—Dalits, class differences and an apathetic judiciary.

NO ORDER, THIS! (Facing page and above left) Court strikes you with its brutally real depiction of a sessions court (Above) Debutante director Chaitanya Tamhane

STELLAR PERFORMANCES The film has some brilliant performances by the lead actors. Vira Sathidar as Narayan Kamble looks straight out of a Kabir Kala Manch performance—energetic, witty and rebellious. Geetanjali Kulkarni as the no-nonsense, emotionless public prosecutor is a delight to watch. So is Vivek Gomber as Vora. The camera is neat and slow. Tamhane seems to dislike cuts. Towards the end of the film, there is a symbolic scene where the court caretaker switches off all the lights and fans in the room. Then, the frame stays still for half-aminute, giving one a sense of Kamble’s agony —how long and listlessly he will have to wait before he gets a chance to be heard again. This poignant scene could have served as the perfect ending for the film. Instead, Tamhane chooses to come back to the mundane and mediocre lives of the characters—a bit stretched. Otherwise, the film is an impressive debut. Tamhane is a talent to watch out for. IL INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

IS THAT LEGAL?

Onus of negligence If a construction worker is killed due to a mishap at a site where a house is being built, who should be held responsible as per lawâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the house owner or the building contractor? Death of a worker at a site would tantamount to an act of negligence. The liability in such a case will rest on the individual who is found to have thrown caution to the winds. The extent of criminal liability will, however, need to be proved, depending on the facts and circumstances, supported by evidence. The Indian Penal Code under Section 304-A has provisions regarding punishment to be inflicted upon a person who has caused death by way of acting rashly or negligently. It says that whoever causes the death of any person due to any rash or negligent act, shall be punished with imprisonment, with a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or both. In the above case, the negligence could be on the part of the contractor, or the house owner or even both, depending upon the facts. Illustrations: Udayshankar

Addressing health hazards Landfill sites in the national capital are said to be a health hazard as chemicals leak into the soil and contaminate groundwater. Other cities may also be facing a similar situation. Can citizens take the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and other civic bodies to court? And, can the judiciary take suo motu action? The idea behind earmarking certain areas as landfill sites or garbage dumping sites by civic agencies is to address the sanitation and garbage disposal issues in a city. Generally, certain areas are identified as garbage dumping grounds by civic agencies in cities. Such sites are important, especially in a mega metro like Delhi, where more than 9,000 metric tons of garbage is produced on a daily basis. However, if such sites contain garbage beyond their prescribed limit, it could create huge environmental and health problems for citizens. In such cases, they can approach the judiciary to address their health concerns and for remedial action. The Supreme Court, in various judgments, has interpreted and expanded the meaning of Article 21 of the constitution and has pronounced that the right to life and personal liberty also includes within its ambit the right to lead a healthy life. Therefore, if such a fundamental right is violated by any means, it is the duty of the courts, being the guardian of the constitution, to protect the rights of individuals. The courts can even take suo motu action on the basis of news reports or if they feel that there is a laxity on the part of civic authorities in safeguarding health concerns and safety issues of citizens.

December 31, 2014

Airline woes If an airline, on account of a sudden shortage of pilots, cancels flights, does it have to compensate passengers who, for example, may miss important business conferences, fail to strike business deals, or canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t attend important weddings? What do aviation laws say? To ensure that interests of air travelers are protected, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has formulated a set of guidelines, which came into effect from August 15, 2010. According to the rules, the airlines need to pay suitable compensation to passengers for flight delays or cancellations. Those denied boarding due to overbooking are also liable for compensation. However, the norms do not apply in case flights are delayed due to factors beyond airlinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; control, such as inclement weather or air-traffic congestion. On the other hand, if a flight has been canceled due to dearth of pilots, the airline is squarely responsible for lax service, and the affected passengers can claim suitable compensation.

VERDICT We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Albert Einstein

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

QUOTE-UNQUOTE

“Nagaland is 10-15 hours from Delhi but it took more than 10 years for a prime minister to come here.” —Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his speech at the Hornbill festival in Kohima, Nagaland. The Indian Express

“I have come here to start the process of uprooting Trinamool Congress.”

“Modi has impressed me so far with his willingness to shake up the bureaucratic inertia inside India…”

—BJP president Amit Shah, taking on the TMC government at a rally in Kolkata. Hindustan Times

—US President Barack Obama at a business roundtable in his country

“Nijera 34 bochhor khamatai chhilo. Kichhu korte pareni, aar jara korche tader bamboo diye berachhe...” (They were in power for 34 years, but could do nothing. Instead they are trying to figure out how to shove bamboos up the...of those who are doing it.)”

“Khap panchayats consist of experienced members of the society and they make sensible decisions.” —Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. IBN Live

“…it is better to have an irresponsible media than a controlled media.” —Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, after taking over as Press Council of India chairman. Deccan Herald

—West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, hitting out at the CPM for approaching Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Saradha probe. The Economic Times

“Adi is my mentor, not Priyanka. I don’t discuss work with her, but I do discuss work with him....He was the one who discovered me.” —Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra denying that her cousin Priyanka Chopra is a guide in her film career. Hindustan Times

December 31, 2014

“For some states, continuing Naxal violence is beneficial. It helps them get central funds…” —Outgoing director-general of CRPF Dilip Trivedi, on selected states having vested interests in Naxalism. The Times of India

1. Have a blimp! A: Have a good time! B: Have a good year! C: May you be successful! D: Wish you luck! 2. Can’t do without BVDs? A: B-rated Video Discs B: Bollywood Vulgar Dances C: Underwear D: Porn DVDs 3. What’s a “doppelganger”? A: Ghost B: Petty gangster C: Stupid person D: Informer 4. A medallion man. A: Sports champ B: Wears a chain with an open shirt C: Married more than once D: Miserly person 5. Jia wrote: “Our relationship is over. A. Poison-pen letter B. French letter C. Dead letter D. Dear John letter 6. One man’s meat is another man’s …. A: treat B: poison C: heat D: passion 7. He … to market every day.

have fun with english. get the right answers. play better scrabble. By Mahesh Trivedi

A: pedals B: peddles C: pedles D: paddles 8. Dead from the neck up. A: Almost dead B: Stupid C: Deaf D: Arrogant 9. Chat room slang “xoxo”. A: Hugs and kisses B: Confused C: End of message D: No entry 10. Zeolite is a …. A: patriot B: devotee C: meteorite D: mineral 11. To play gooseberry. A: Be unwanted third person B: Blow up money C: Back-bite D: Impersonate

14. Dutch dinner. A: Pay and eat B: Only for vegetarians C: Only for beef-eaters D: All are invited 15. Aged between 70 and 79 years. A: Heptagenarian B: Septuagenarian C: Septagenarian D: Heptogenarian 16. A free spirit. A: Atheist B: Freed prisoner C: Non-conformist D: Dead 17. At half cock. A: Partly ready B: A bit crazy C: Midnight D: Interval 18. Snug as a bug in a rug. A: Frightened B: Very small C: Booby-trap D: Very comfortable

12. A sympathizer who annoys you. A: Devil’s advocate B: Job’s comforter C: Flesh-presser D: Glad-hander

19. What do you understand by “sizzled”? A: Stunned B: Thrashed C: Drunk D: Trapped

13. Unpredictable shopper. A: Ugly customer B: Tough customer C: Rum customer D: Slippery customer

20. To vent one’s spleen is to …. A: express anger B: reveal a secret C: tell the truth D: vomit

ANSWERS

1. Have a good year! 2. Underwear 3. Ghost 4. Wears chain with open shirt 5. Dear John letter 6. poison 7. pedals 8. Stupid 9. Hugs and kisses 10. mineral 11. Be unwanted third person 12. Job’s comforter 13. Rum customer 14 .Pay and eat 15. Septuagenarian 16. Non-conformist 17. Partly ready 18. Very comfortable 19. Drunk 20. express anger

Y L D R WO ISE

SCORES

0 to 7 correct—You need to do this more often. 8 to 12 correct—Good, get the scrabble board out. Above 12—Bravo! Keep it up! textdoctor2@gmail.com

INDIA LEGAL December 31, 2014

PEOPLE / spirit of christmas

Photos: UNI

STUNTMAN SANTA Dressed as Santa Claus, a man flew down 98 metres from top of a hotel in Berlin during an event hosted by German stuntman Jochen Schweizerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entertainment agency

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN Students in a Chennai school dressed like Santa at a function ahead of Christmas celebrations. VETERAN SANTA Vitor Martins on his sledge in Sao Caetano do Sul's town square, near Sao Paulo, has been dressing as Santa for 15 years. Ninety-four percent of his body is covered with tattoos with Christmas references. JOY OF GIVING People wearing Santa costumes participate in a 2.5 km charity run at a park in Tokyo to raise funds for children.

December 31, 2014